Faking Reality

by Zaria Garrison

  Brandon smiled. “Yes, sir. I promise. So what’s going on back there?”

  As he listened intently, his mother did a rundown of all the family business. One of his sisters had received a promotion on her job. Another was laid off, but she was making ends meet by selling handmade jewelry online. He had a niece who’d made varsity cheerleader and another had been crowned homecoming queen. His namesake nephew was the latest star on the high school basketball team. Brandon’s oldest brother along with his wife had just returned from a Caribbean cruise, and his parents had enrolled in a computer class at the local senior citizen center. While he waited for Tia, his mother also told him all of the happenings in his old neighborhood. She was excited that a new Church’s chicken had been built less than a block from their house and their local church had just purchased new pew Bibles.

  After more than an hour on the phone with his mother, he heard Tia’s heels clicking as she came down the stairs. “It sounds like my wife is finally ready to go. I love you guys.”

  “We love you too,” his parents said in unison.

  Brandon hung up the phone just as Tia arrived downstairs taking his breath away. “You look absolutely gorgeous,” he said. He took her hand and linked it into his arm to escort her outside.

  “Brandon, you rented a limo?” Tia asked as they stepped onto the porch. The long stretch pearl-colored limousine sat parked in their driveway. A man dressed in a black chauffeur’s uniform stepped out and held the door open for them.

  “It wasn’t me. It’s a gift from Julian. He wanted the entire cast to arrive in white limousines for the party.”

  Tia grinned and stepped inside. Brandon got in beside her, and the driver closed the door behind them. Brandon cuddled up close to Tia, then placed his hand on her tummy. Tia pushed him away and slid to the other side of the long seat. “Brandon, you are going to mess up my dress and makeup,” she said protesting.

  “I just wanted to see if the baby would kick for me.”

  “He’s been kicking all day. Just let him sleep so I can enjoy the party,” she snapped.

  He laughed. “My mother warned me about pregnancy mood swings. Okay, sweetie, I’ll leave you two alone.”

  Tia breathed a sigh of relief. It irritated her that Brandon was constantly touching her belly and wanting to feel the baby move. The first time he had asked, she had covered her mouth to fake nausea and run from the room. After he left the house, she called Quincy and begged for his help. “Brandon wants to feel the baby kick. I told you this plan would not work. How am I supposed to make a sponge belly kick?”

  “Wow . . . I didn’t think of that. Just give me a few days. Try to stay away from him and I’ll come up with something.”

  A few days later, he called to tell her he had found the answer. He asked Tia to come over to his studio immediately. Tia was lying across her bed in the midst of an afternoon nap. She stretched and yawned like a Siamese cat. “This had better be good. I was asleep. You know us pregnant women like to sleep a lot.”

  “Then you’ve been pregnant your whole life, because you’ve loved to lie around and sleep away most of the day since we met.”

  Tia giggled. “Yea, but now nobody questions me about it. I love it.”

  “Stop being so lazy and get over here,” he said and hung up the phone.

  When she arrived, he was busy showing a customer the fabric he’d chosen for her living room, so Tia went into his back office and waited. Sitting on his desk she noticed a lavender bag with the name Dirty Diana’s on the front. She grabbed the bag and was just about to peek inside when Quincy walked in. “You are so nosy,” he said, snatching it away.

  Tia laughed. “Okay, you said you had the answer to the baby kicking. What have you got?”

  Quincy reached into the bag and pulled out a long, slender massager. “Here it is,” he said proudly.

  “Thanks so much, but I have my own toys at home,” Tia laughed loudly.

  “It’s not a toy, silly. Put this inside the belly padding and turn it on. The rippling effect of the massager will go through the pad and feel just like a baby moving around in your stomach. After Brandon is through feeling the baby, just excuse yourself, go to the bathroom, and turn it off.”

  Tia stared at him in disbelief; then she grinned. “Quincy, you are an evil genius.”

  That trick had worked successfully several times. Tia had even turned it on before getting into bed several times. The distraction of the baby kicking made Brandon forget about asking her for sex. After he dozed off, she’d sneak into the bathroom and turn it off. But Tia had not included it in her padding before dressing for the party. Wearing a full-length gown, she knew it would be too difficult to reach inside and turn on and off, even in the privacy of the bathroom. She decided that Brandon was just going to have to get through one night without having his son kick for him.

  They arrived at the party, and the driver pulled behind an identical white limousine and parked. Brandon and Tia stepped out just as another white limousine pulled in directly behind them and also parked. The entire cast was in attendance, along with Anderson, and they each walked the red carpet along the driveway up to the front door of Danita’s estate as the paparazzi’s flashbulbs lit up the sky like lightning on a hot summer night.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Yolanda stepped out of the limousine provided for them and waited for Jimmy. She knew he was hesitating because he was adamantly against coming at all. It wasn’t until their attorney advised him that he was contractually obligated to do publicity for the show that he finally relented and agreed to attend the party.

  The past two weeks had been the most strained and difficult that Yolanda could remember in her marriage. After she’d told him about Julian and he’d run out, she helped the camera crew gather up all of their equipment while making excuses for Jimmy’s behavior. She waved good-bye to the crew; then she fixed dinner and waited for Jimmy to return. The roast chicken she prepared for dinner sat warming in the oven until it shriveled up and dried. Sadly, she realized that Jimmy was not going to be home for dinner. She tossed the chicken out with the trash and told JJ to order a pizza for him and Priscilla. “Your father is working late. I’m sure he’ll be home soon,” she said, trying her best to reassure them.

  “Did he call? It’s not like him to stay at the church and not call,” JJ said. He grabbed a large slice of pizza from the box and watched the cheese stretch, then took a big bite.

  “Um . . . I talked to him earlier . . . don’t worry.”

  It didn’t take much to convince JJ, and after eating four slices of pizza, he grabbed a bag of potato chips, two sodas from the fridge, and a handful of cookies to take to his room for a snack. “I’ve got an algebra test tomorrow. Prissy, can you come help me study?”

  “I will when you learn to pronounce my name right,” Priscilla said.

  When they were small children, JJ found pronouncing the name Priscilla difficult. So as a two-year-old, he’d shortened it to Prissy. Although he was older and could easily pronounce her name now, he sometimes forgot how much she hated it. He rolled his eyes behind her back before correcting himself. “I mean, Priscilla, will you come help me study?” he said.

  “Yeah, I’ll be up in a minute. I wanna talk to Momlanda first.”

  JJ stuffed two Oreos into his mouth and grabbed several more; then he left the kitchen.

  Yolanda stared out of the kitchen window, hoping that any moment she’d see Jimmy’s car coming up the driveway.

  “Momlanda, what’s really going on?” Priscilla asked.

  Still staring out of the window, Yolanda gave her a halfhearted answer. “Nothing, honey, everything’s fine.”

  Priscilla turned to walk out of the kitchen. Halfway out, she changed her mind and turned around. “I heard you and Dad arguing earlier. Just tell me the truth.”

  Surprised, Yolanda turned away from the window and stared at her. “What did you hear?”

  “I heard you crying, and I heard Dad yelli
ng. I know that something is going on, just tell me what it is.”

  “It really doesn’t concern you. This is grown folks’ business, and it’s between me and your dad.”

  Priscilla crossed her arms across her chest and rested her weight on one hip, displaying a classic teenager-filled-with-attitude pose. “Oh, really? Don’t you mean it’s between you, my dad, and Mr. Washington? Is that why you were so upset that he gave me a ride home today?”

  “I swear to you, it’s not what you think. Just stay away from Mr. Washington. He is not who you think he is. You really don’t know him at all.”

  “No, Momlanda. I think it’s you who I really don’t know.”

  As Priscilla turned and left the kitchen, Yolanda wanted to chase after her and explain, but she was too concerned about Jimmy to think about anything else. She’d never seen him as angry as he was when he left the house. Sitting down at her kitchen table, she bowed her head and prayed.

  “Lord, I am so ashamed of the woman that I’ve been. For the past several months, I have made excuses for my behavior while emotionally cheating on my husband. My mind was filled with dreams of being a movie star, and I completely lost sight of the woman that I should be. I am so sorry. Please forgive me, Father. Please help Jimmy to find it in his heart to forgive me too, and please, Lord, stop him from doing something today that he will regret.”

  Yolanda sat up in her bed that night waiting for Jimmy and continuing to pray. Shortly after midnight, she heard his keys in the door. Her first instinct was to rush downstairs and try to talk to him, but she decided to wait for him to come to their bedroom. Quietly, she waited as she heard him climb the stairs and walk down the hallway. His footsteps stopped at their bedroom door for a few seconds; then they continued. The next sound she heard was the door of their guest room opening and closing as Jimmy went inside.

  She got out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe. As she was putting it on, her cell phone began beeping to alert her of a text message. She picked up the phone, and saw that the message was from Julian.

  “I saw your husband today. Now that your marriage is over, we can finally be together. I love you.”

  Yolanda ran into her bathroom, dropped the phone into the toilet, and pressed the handle to flush it. Through tears streaming down her face, she watched it swirl around in the bowl until it disappeared.

  When she returned to her bedroom, she wished that getting rid of Julian could be that easy. Taking off her robe, she decided against going to the guest room, and instead, climbed into her bed. She buried her face in a pillow and cried herself to sleep.

  The next morning, she made breakfast for the children and sent them off to school as normal. Jimmy came downstairs shortly after they had left.

  “Good morning,” she said, sounding a bit too cheerful.

  “Good morning.” Jimmy’s response was cut and dry. He picked up a piece of toast from the platter on the table and smeared strawberry jelly all over it. “Can you please call a plumber to come over today? There is something wrong with the bathroom in our bedroom. It seems to be clogged.”

  “Yes, I’ll call right after breakfast.”

  Jimmy balanced his toast in one hand and awkwardly leaned in to kiss Yolanda on the cheek. “Have a good day,” he mumbled.

  “Jimmy, we have to talk. Please don’t leave.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. I think you said everything that needed to be said yesterday.”

  For the next week, they coexisted in their home, barely speaking to each other. He returned to their bedroom, but the cold shoulder he gave her made it seem as if she was still alone. Then the invitation arrived for the finale cast party.

  “We’re not going,” Jimmy told her as soon as she pulled it out of the envelope.

  Yolanda was disappointed, but she didn’t protest. The next morning, she called Anderson to decline.

  “I appreciate the call, but you don’t have the option of not coming,” Anderson said.

  “You don’t understand. My husband refuses to go to the party, and I would be uncomfortable coming alone.”

  “Look, Yolanda, I know that there was some friction between your husband and Julian. I don’t know all the details, but I know that you asked to be released from your contract.”

  “That’s right, and my husband doesn’t want to have anything else to do with Revelations.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, but the contract is iron clad. You both agreed to attend publicity events at the producer’s discretion. So I expect to see you both at the party.”

  When Yolanda told Jimmy about the conversation, he immediately called his attorney and set up a meeting. After speaking with him, he came home and filled Yolanda in on the details.

  “Julian has threatened to sue us if we don’t attend this finale party. It seems that they have enough footage to complete the show without bringing the cameras back into our home. So if we go to this party, that will complete our obligations.”

  “Um . . . I spoke to Charlene Morton this morning, and she said that the network has already agreed to do a second season.”

  Jimmy glared at her. “I am not doing another season. We never should have done this one. If it’s that important to you, then you can do it without me.”

  “No, I don’t want to do it. It’s not important to me at all.” Yolanda nervously chewed on her bottom lip. “The only thing I care about is you and our kids.”

  “Do you really mean that?”

  “Yes, I really do. Everything that’s happened has shown me just how important you and the kids are to me. I made some stupid mistakes, and I’m so sorry. Can you please find it in your heart to forgive me?” she pleaded.

  He reached out and pulled her into a hug. “I forgive you,” he whispered.

  Yolanda felt better, but as they prepared for the party, she could feel the level of tension in their marriage steadily rising again. Jimmy had told her about his last encounter with Julian, and they both were worried about what would happen when the two men stood face-to-face again.

  After he finally stepped out of the limousine, Yolanda entwined her hands with Jimmy’s as they walked into Danita’s mansion. Wearing a Carolina Herrera Floral Ball Gown, Danita stood at her front door and greeted each guest as they entered. “Yolanda, you look lovely,” she said. They exchanged air kisses on both cheeks.

  “Thank you.” Instead of purchasing a new gown and running the risk of irritating her husband further, Yolanda had borrowed a cocktail dress from one of her church members. It was a simple black-and-white ruffled dress with a modest hemline. Standing next to Danita she felt inadequate as she smiled for publicity photos.

  “Bishop Snow, you look wonderful in your tuxedo,” Danita said. “Is this Hugo Boss?”

  “Um . . . I’m not really into designer labels. I just picked out one that fit.”

  Danita threw back her head and laughed loudly. “Well, you picked out a great one,” she said before turning to greet her next guest.

  Instead of mingling with the other guests, Jimmy led Yolanda directly to their seats on the front row of the viewing room. They were just about to sit down when Anderson approached them. “I’m glad to see you,” he said.

  Jimmy lightly shook Anderson’s hand, then took his seat. “You didn’t really give us a choice in the matter, now, did you?”

  “You’re right. I didn’t. I’m a producer, so my first concern is for the success of my show. But I’ve got good news for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Julian was called out of town suddenly on business, so he won’t be attending the party. You can relax and enjoy yourselves.”

  After he walked away, Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief. Yolanda sat down beside him, and he grabbed her hand and held it in his lap. “I’m so glad he is out of town. I have to admit I wasn’t convinced that I’d be able to control my temper tonight. That’s why I sat in the limo for so long. I was praying for strength.”

  “Don’t relax just yet. I’ve kno
wn Julian for a long time. He doesn’t give up easily.”

  “You’re probably right, but he’s not here now. So let’s just enjoy the final show, and then we can move on with our lives.”

  The lights dimmed, and the rest of the cast took their seats. Yolanda tried to relax but something in her spirit would not allow it. She had not heard a word from Julian since the text message he had sent before she drowned her phone. Not hearing from him terrified her almost as much as hearing from him, because she knew it meant he was up to something. Yolanda believed that Julian was like a cheetah stalking his prey. He’d lay low and quiet, seemingly out of sight until the precise moment arose. Then he would pounce on his victim and rip them to shreds. As she stared at the screen, Yolanda suddenly realized that that moment had come. Unbeknownst to her, Julian had videotaped all of their lunch dates. With her cast mates and husband watching, Yolanda saw herself on the screen laughing and having the time of her life with Julian.

  As soon as the scene switched to Brandon Kitts helping the youth of his church with a car wash, Yolanda felt Jimmy slip his hand out of hers. Without looking over at him, she knew that he was furious. She tried her best to remain calm as she felt all eyes in the room were no longer on the screen but positioned directly on her.

  The show continued on as each minister was featured in their segments, and then it returned to Yolanda and Julian. Unable to move, Yolanda watched as her worst nightmare played out before her on the screen. She watched the two of them in the limo as Julian leaned over and kissed her. The kiss seemed to go on forever, until finally the credits began to roll and the screen froze with her lips stuck to Julian’s.

  Chapter Seventeen

  As soon as the lights came on, Jimmy stood up from his chair and rushed out of the room, leaving Yolanda sitting alone in her seat. He ran out of the front door, and as soon as he stepped on the porch, the waiting paparazzi spotted him and surged forward. He dropped his head and pulled his coat up to cover his face. As their flashbulbs went off, he pressed his way through the crowd until he was behind the velvet rope and continued walking until he was at the end of the driveway. Driven by shame and humiliation, Jimmy looked both ways, trying to decide what to do. Then he began walking down the street.