Sing A New Song

by Michelle Lindo-Rice

  Pleased, Darnell grinned. “No thanks necessary. I did it for both of you.”

  Karlie looked over at Neil. “And you were in on this?”

  Neil raised both hands. “Guilty as charged.”

  Jamaal and Brian had gotten permission from Dr. Layton to put music on for an hour. Jamaal plugged in the simple boom box, and soon Mary J. Blige began singing, “Let’s get this party started.”

  Myra came in with a huge birthday cake with sixteen candles burning.

  Karlie laughed with glee. “This is the best birthday ever.”

  Karlie blew out the candles, and her mother helped her cut the cake. Ryan and Patricia came in during the cake sharing. Ryan had hired a professional photographer to take pictures and make Karlie a video.

  Everyone had a chance to say something.

  Tiffany recorded a special message for her daughter to hear on her actual birthday. Her voice was so hoarse that she had to whisper to get the words out.

  Neil left the room when he heard the poignant message. It tore his heart that death was inevitable. If there was anything in his power to bind the chilling hands of death, Neil would do it in a heartbeat. But death answered to God.

  Neil peered back inside the room when he saw the photographer leave. Tiffany crooked her finger at him. Neil gladly went inside the room.

  “Neil, you are such a good friend to me . . . more than a friend,” Tiffany began. “I don’t deserve you.”

  “Please,” Neil said. “You would do the same for me.”

  Tiffany patted a spot on the bed, and Neil obliged. “Neil, I am tired. I don’t know if I will make it past next week. Even though the paternity test results come in tomorrow, I want to officially make you Karlie’s guardian and the trustee over her estate. My manager and friend, Winona Franks, oversees it now and will continue to do so, but you will have the final say. I know I’m springing this on you, but I need to die knowing Karlie will always be okay and that her needs will be met. I know you will put her welfare above everything else.”

  Neil felt honored at her request. “Tiffany, are you sure? What about Karlie’s biological father?”

  “I’m positive. Ryan or Thomas will be well set for life—I made sure of that—but Karlie’s estate is massive and needs the right person,” Tiffany stated firmly. “Neil, in these past months, you’ve been more of a father to Karlie than any of these men. You are the only one I really trust.”

  Neil leaned in and rested his head on Tiffany’s stomach. “Okay, Tiffany. You know there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I could never refuse you anything.”

  Tiffany shifted. “I know, Neil. Just take care of my daughter. That is all I ask.”

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Would I lie for her? Neil asked himself. Tuesday morning was so glum and full of clouds. Rain threatened to burst through the clouds at any moment. Neil pulled into the center to get the paternity test results. Tiffany had also signed the papers making him her health and legal proxy. So he was able to claim the results without any hassle. He selfishly chose not to call Ryan or Thomas until he had seen the results himself.

  Neil looked at the small slip of paper that would decide Karlie’s fate. His eyes widened. Just to make sure, he read the results again. No, it cannot be. Neil clenched his jaw in anger and disbelief. He now had his answer. Yes, he would lie for her and to her.

  Neil sped home to tell Myra the results. She clutched her chest in dismay. “No, Neil, you’re lying.”

  “Myra, you know what this means.” Neil gave her a pointed stare.

  “Yes, but I am not sure I feel the same way anymore. . . about . . . you know . . . the offer.”

  “What do you mean, you’re not sure?” Neil demanded.

  “Neil, you have been so busy with Tiffany that you haven’t seen any of the subtle clues I have been leaving you.”

  “Myra, what on earth are you talking about?” He was not in the mood for any riddles. “If you have something to say, I wish you would just spit it out.”

  “Haven’t you looked at the calendar lately? Haven’t you seen the blue lines I drew through the red stars?” Myra quizzed. Her excitement was palpable.

  Neil looked at Myra and calculated. Her eyes sparkled, and she hummed with barely concealed joy. “You are pregnant.” Neil’s mouth hung open.

  “Yes,” Myra shouted with glee. “We’re going to have a baby. I didn’t realize it, because I lost weight instead of gaining. Because of everything going on with Tiffany, I just didn’t put two and two together, but—”

  “But I don’t get it. Shouldn’t you be gaining weight and not losing?”

  “Yes, but since I’ve been helping Tiffany, I haven’t been eating as much sweets. . . .”

  “Oh . . . thank you, Lord. Thank you.” Neil grabbed Myra off her feet and swung her around with elation. He showered her face with tiny kisses and placed his hands across her stomach. “Myra, this is great news. Karlie is going to love having a little sister or brother to play with.”

  The room suddenly became quiet, and Neil’s smile faltered as understanding dawned. “Myra, no, do not do this. We agreed. Karlie is mine, and I love her.”

  “Neil, Karlie is not your child.” She patted her stomach. “This one is. I know we agreed to take her in, but now things . . . have . . . changed. I only suggested we take her in the first place because I never thought I would have a child of my own.”

  “Oh, so your reasons for taking Karlie in were purely selfish, and now she is expendable. Is that what you are telling me, Myra?”

  “Well, no.” Myra shook her head and took a small step back to think. She did not know how to explain her conflicting emotions. “It’s just that neither of us has ever been a parent before, and I want just the two of us to experience it together. That is all.”

  “And how would Karlie interfere with that?” Neil seethed, truly seeing Myra for the thoughtless woman she really was. His eyes filled. “Please, Myra, don’t do this. You see, Karlie is my daughter. I have always loved her, and, Myra, I want her here with me.”

  “I do not want to take her anymore,” Myra finally spat out, poking him in the chest. Her nostrils flared, and her voice escalated. Neil had pushed her hand, and now she was ready to come back swinging.

  “This is a human being you are talking about,” Neil said with amazement. “My daughter.”

  “No,” Myra cried. Broken, she said, “Karlie does not have your blood flowing through her veins. She is not your child.”

  “She’s mine, Myra,” Neil whispered as the tears rolled down his face. “In my heart I adopted her, and she is mine.”

  No matter what he said, Myra refused to budge. Silently and filled with hurt, Neil put on his coat. “I am glad you finally have the child you so badly wanted, Myra. But at what price?”

  The question hung in the air as the door closed behind him. Myra covered her mouth in shock as the full implications of his question sunk in. No, her heart screamed. This could not be happening. How could Neil think to desert his own child for another? “I don’t believe it,” she whispered. “Neil would not do this. He’s only trying to make me feel guilty.” Then Myra stiffened her spine. Neil was not going anywhere. He was not about to turn his back on her. Not now. Neil couldn’t even hurt a fly. He would not do this to her. Protectively, she placed her hands over her stomach. “Don’t worry, baby. Daddy didn’t mean what he said.”

  Myra’s conscience had been pricked, but she vehemently shook her head, refusing to heed what it was telling her. “No, Karlie doesn’t need Neil. She’s practically an adult already, and she has four other men she can choose from. She’s sixteen. She can even plead as an adult in any court. Karlie can take care of herself. She was practically born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She’ll be fine.”

  Myra’s resolve strengthened; she was absolutely convinced that Neil would come around. He always did. “Blood is thicker than water. This is his blood growing inside me. I have the upper hand. Neil will see thin
gs my way.” Myra didn’t know how inaccurate her prediction was, but she would find out the hard way.

  Neil barely had time to cool down before Ryan and Thomas arrived at Tiffany’s house. He had called both men while walking down the block to Tiffany’s house. They pulled up within minutes of each other.

  As soon as the men were settled, in the living room Neil set his face like a flint and injected a brisk, no-nonsense tone in his voice. “Gentlemen, we all know why you are here, so let’s get right to it.”

  Both men looked at Neil with anticipation. “Ryan, you are not Karlie’s father.”

  Ryan put both hands on his head with visible relief. He turned to Thomas and shook his hand. “Congratulations, Thomas. You have a prize for a daughter.” He looked at his watch, ready to depart. Typical for him, he was already on other business.

  As soon as Ryan departed, Thomas looked at Neil expectantly. Neil merely shook his head.

  “No,” Thomas murmured. The truth pierced his heart. “My heart literally aches. I didn’t expect to feel this way.” He gave Neil a piercing, accusatory stare. “But you sat there and let Ryan congratulate me.”

  “I let Ryan believe what he wanted to believe,” Neil said without rancor.

  “Why?” Thomas needed to know. What kind of sick game was Neil playing? He was two seconds away from decking him.

  “Because I need you to agree to do something,” Neil said. Seeing that he had Thomas’s undivided attention, Neil continued. “Simply put, I cannot allow Tiffany to ever know the truth. It’s too much for her to bear in her condition.”

  “But what about Karlie?” Thomas asked. “She deserves to know the truth.”

  “I will tell Karlie the entire sordid truth,” Neil said, “then persuade her that it’s necessary to keep up the pretense.”

  “Do you think lying to Tiffany is a good idea?” Thomas was extremely doubtful. What Neil was asking him to do was to betray Tiffany’s trust.

  “C’mon, man. Your name is already on Karlie’s birth papers. So, what’s the difference, now? You love Karlie, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” Thomas hesitated. He loved Karlie immensely.

  Neil could see that he was getting through to him and pushed on. “Thomas, you have got to do this for everybody’s sake. Karlie needs a father, and Tiffany needs that reassurance before she dies. For Pete’s sake, Tiffany is on her deathbed. Do you know what the truth would do to her? Can you live with that on your conscience?”

  “All right, Neil,” Thomas said, acquiescing. “If you think this is the best course to take, I will do it.”

  Neil relaxed his shoulders with relief. For a split second, he thought Thomas would insist on telling Tiffany the truth. But thankfully, the other man had seen the rationale behind his actions.

  This was a lie of compassion. A necessary lie. God would understand and forgive. At least that was what Neil assured himself of as he watched Thomas depart to give Tiffany the “wonderful” news. Neil walked home. He would wait for Karlie to get in from school. Then he was going to convince her to lie to her mother as well.

  He heard her enter the living room and watched as she came over to him.

  “Hi, Neil.”

  “Karlie, let’s have a talk.” He led her over to the couch.

  Karlie’s hands shook. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m already nervous,” she confessed.

  Seeing her shudder, Neil got right to the point. “Karlie, the paternity test results came in today.”

  “Oh,” Karlie said. She remained pensive for a few minutes before asking, “Who is my father?”

  Neil’s throat suddenly felt parched. “Karlie, neither Ryan nor Thomas is your father.”

  “Then who is?”

  Neil didn’t answer. Instead, he waited for the awful truth to hit her.

  Karlie’s face appeared frozen, until her mouth slowly opened and she exhaled loudly. “I think I’m going to be sick.” Karlie covered her mouth with her hands as the bile rose to the surface. She raced to the bathroom and spilled her guts for what felt like an eternity. Spent, Karlie sat on the toilet. In her haste, she had left the door ajar. Karlie looked up and saw Neil standing there.

  He walked into the bathroom, went to the sink, and turned on the faucet. He grabbed a washcloth, wet it, and washed Karlie’s face. He gave her a firm hug. “Karlie, it doesn’t matter how you got here. God wanted you here, and that’s what matters. Tiffany loves you. I love you, and it doesn’t matter to me one bit who your father is. As far as I’m concerned, he was just a means to an end.”

  “Though Mom told me that her stepfather raped her, I just never once considered the possibility that he could be my father. I’ll never look at myself the same again. I’m so mortified. I just can’t believe it. Clifford Peterson is my, my . . .” Karlie couldn’t bring herself to say it. She looked at Neil. “Does Mom know yet?”

  “No, I haven’t told her. But, Karlie, you’re still you,” Neil assured her. “Clifford Peterson does not determine your character. When I look at you, I see a beautiful young woman.” Neil lifted her chin with his index finger until Karlie looked at him. “Karlie, it would kill your mother to hear this, so I convinced Thomas to tell Tiffany he is the father.”

  “But why? You told me the truth. My mother deserves to know,” Karlie said.

  “Karlie, you’re not a child. You’re mature enough to understand and handle the truth. Your mother is too ill. She’s not ready for this. Believe me, I know it.”

  Karlie retreated to her bedroom to cry and think. She called Jamaal, but his grandmother said that he was not home. Karlie wondered where he could be when she needed him now so badly.

  The doorbell rang. Karlie cracked her door open. She heard Jamaal’s voice. Thank God. Karlie grabbed her coat, raced down the stairs, and catapulted into Jamaal’s arms. She tugged his hands and led him over to her own house to talk.

  Jamaal followed Karlie into her bedroom. Curious, Jamaal looked around her private sanctuary. It was neat and organized and filled with all kinds of girly stuff.

  Karlie sat Jamaal down and told him everything. To her surprise, Jamaal agreed with Neil.

  “But how can I lie to my mother about something this important?” Karlie asked, tortured.

  “Because in this instance your mother’s welfare is more important,” Jamaal said matter-of-factly.

  “I want to tell her the truth,” Karlie responded with sheer stubbornness. “I want to tell her because then I get to ask her why she even kept me. I want to know why she didn’t abort me. She must have known that Clifford Peterson could be my father.”

  “Karlie.” Jamaal was shocked at her statement. “How can you even say such words? You’re here because in spite of everything, your mother loved you.”

  “But . . .” Karlie faltered and began to cry.

  “Karlie, you’ll be sixteen soon,” Jamaal stated. “And you’re old enough to know that these things happen, and it does not make any sense to even ask why. You just have to accept it and move on.”

  “I don’t know,” Karlie said, feeling confused. “This is just all too much for one person to handle.”

  “Grow up, Karlie,” Jamaal told her with a sudden firmness. “Somewhere out there is someone else with even bigger problems than what you have. You have a mother who loved and doted on you. You have financial security, which some of us can only dream of.”

  “You sound so grown up,” Karlie said with a little voice.

  “That is because I had to,” Jamaal said. “My neighborhood grows you up quick, and I have learned how to fend for myself. It’s time you do the same, Karlie.”

  “All right,” Karlie said, acquiescing. She lowered her head, but her resolve strengthened. “I’ll do it. Both you and Neil are right. My mother cannot handle the truth right now.” She lifted her head and declared, “I would rather lie to her and have her live a day longer than lose a day because of my own selfishness.”

  “I think Neil believes it’s for the best.” J
amaal comforted her. “That is the only reason why he would ask you to go along with it.”

  “I know Neil loves me and my mother. He means the best for us,” Karlie said. “He would not suggest it if he did not think this was the only way.”

  “You really value his opinion, don’t you?” Jamaal asked.

  “Yeah,” Karlie confessed. “I wish he were my father or that he would offer to take me in. I’d live with him in a heartbeat.”

  “That’s life, though. We don’t get what we want, but we have to live with what we get.”

  Neil drove Karlie to the hospital to meet Thomas. Together, Thomas and Karlie went into Tiffany’s room to break the “news.”

  Outside her room, Neil paced and anxiously waited for Thomas and Karlie to come back out. Neil did not know that he had it in him to orchestrate such a scheme, but there was no black or white in life. Life seemed generously sprinkled with patches of gray. Sometimes people had to do things that they would not normally do if the occasion called for it.

  Though shall not bear false witness.

  “Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me,” Neil prayed.

  Thomas came out first with unshed tears in his eyes. “Tiffany was so relieved when I told her that I was Tiffany’s father that she started crying real hard till she coughed up blood. I think you were right. Tiffany could not have handled the truth.”

  “Thanks,” Neil said and shook the other man’s hand. “So what happens now?”

  “I guess Karlie will be coming to live with me,” Thomas answered happily. “I am thinking about moving her back to Tiffany’s house in L.A. A change might be good for her. I will take good care of her, I promise.”

  “You’d better,” Neil replied. He good-naturedly patted Thomas on the back and watched him leave. He did not have any time to reflect on Thomas’s decision, because Karlie exited the room. “How did everything go?” Neil asked gently.

  “It was surprisingly easy to do. I even promised to help her finish some song she’s working on,” Karlie informed him with a jaded tone.