by H. H. Fowler
Yasmine rolled her eyes. Levi hadn’t any reasons to stay now, knowing Sasha wasn’t going to be there anymore. But if Sasha hadn’t resigned, of course, Levi would be singing a different tune.
“Well,” Drake chimed back in. “I pray God’s favor be with you – whatever your decisions turn out to be. However, I’ve also come to invite you to Kevin and Hunter’s engagement party.”
Yasmine’s ears perked up at the announcement. “Kevin’s getting married?” she asked in a stunned tone. “When did that happen?”
“I literally don’t know,” Drake said. “Everything happened so fast between Hunter and Kevin, I’m still trying to digest the news of their marriage myself. I supposed I’m experiencing a similar reaction to you and Levi. But the Word of God greatly encourages marriage. Who am I to set a precedent on anyone’s choice or timing to marry? I only advise that it is not to be taken lightly.”
“And this Hunter,” Yasmine said, swatting Drake’s little sermon to the side, “does she happen to be a white woman?”
“Yes,” Drake said, not picking up the distaste in Yasmine’s voice. It didn’t even dawn on him that Kevin and Yasmine had dated at one time in their teenage years. “Do you know of her?”
“Not really,” Yasmine confessed. “I just can’t believe Kevin settled for someone outside of his race.”
“Well, knowing Kevin’s taste in women, we were all surprised by this move,” Drake said. “But I’ll repeat what I heard the old folks say when I was growing up: ‘Love knows no bounds’.”
That idiom struck Levi in the gut. He could feel Yasmine’s eyes boring into him, but he dared not raise his gaze in her direction. It would only confirm (of course, in her view) that most of what she’d been saying to him about his passion for Sasha, was nothing short of the gospel truth. But if Yasmine wanted to go toe to toe with him about the truth, he would remind her of her sick obsession with Kevin – which up to this point had been conveniently suppressed until Drake mentioned that Kevin was getting married. Maybe that was the real reason why she didn’t want to marry him.
“We’ll come to your brother’s engagement party,” Levi spoke up.
Drake raise a brow. “You will?”
“Yes…it’ll be good for me and Yasmine – to see how the Beckfords do things in grand style. And it would probably give Yasmine a nudge in the right direction.”
“Boy, please,” Yasmine spat. “I’ve already made my decision…I’m not marrying you and that’s final.”
The words stung Levi and he would have stopped Yasmine from walking away, but he didn’t want to get his ego bruised more than it already had been.
He turned his mortified gaze to Drake and said, “Don’t worry about her. This pregnancy has her hormones out of whack. We’ll be there. Just let me know when and where.”
“The venue is my mother’s house, next Tuesday at 7 p.m.” Drake stared at Levi, as a brief moment of silence passed between them. “I should go and let you get back to her.”
Levi smiled, extending his hand. When Drake shook it, Levi instinctively pulled him in for a manly hug. “Thanks, man. I appreciate you stopping by. It feels like old times.”
Drake stepped back out of Levi’s embrace and said, “I am honestly trying to keep the past behind us. Either that or bitterness will consume me.”
“You are a better man than I am,” Levi said. “And I say this with the most humble respect: You are an example of a true man of God.”
Drake smiled at the accolade as he pulled open the front door. “Take care of yourself, bruh. I’ll see you next week.”
“Sure thing, man, sure thing.”
When Drake made it back to his wife’s car, he slid into the driver’s seat and allowed his head to fall back against the headrest. He hadn’t intended to ask Levi about his resignation, but a huge part of Drake wanted to gauge Levi’s response against Sasha’s frenetic reaction to the revived friendship between him and Levi. Was he being played for a fool? Maybe he was, and that was probably the main reason why Drake was hesitant about hearing what Sasha wanted to tell him yesterday morning. Because deep down Drake was afraid it could be something that would crush his world.
But what if the news Sasha wanted to tell him had nothing to do with her and Levi? It wouldn’t matter to Drake. He would rather stick with his original position – that it was better that he didn’t know than to find out and regret it later. He and Sasha had come too far and had been through too much for the situation to be taken out of context. He had to trust that Sasha loved him and wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt him. He would handle his doubts and fears by increasing his show of kindness – to both Sasha and Levi. Because he would rather have Sasha in his life than not have her at all. Was he being idealistic for wanting to keep such a perception intact? Only time would reveal.
Drake hadn’t driven two miles when his cell phone clamored in the passenger seat. He swiped the screen with his thumb and placed it against his right ear.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Beckford,” came Lewis’ professional voice over the phone. “I’m glad I caught you.”
“Good afternoon, sir,” Drake greeted. “I gather you are calling to remind me of our appointment?”
Lewis chuckled. “Actually, I am. But I’m also calling you about something else. Do you recall me telling you about those two brand new cars that came along with your inheritance?”
“How could I forget, man? I’m still floating on cloud nine thinking about it all.”
“Well, you’re about to float even higher,” Lewis announced. “I’ve just picked up the car keys from an offsite garage to a 2014 Toyota Camry and a 2015 Ford Taurus. It took some time getting them released because of a minor legality, but they’re yours whenever you’re ready to pick them up.”
Drake got an instant headache. This was too much for him to take in one shot. What are you trying to do to me, God? Kill me before I’m thirty?
“I need to pull off to the side of the road to compose myself,” he told Lewis. “I can’t believe this is happening in my life.”
“As I have said, your mentor made certain you and your family were provided for. What do you want to do? I can meet you here at the garage, if you want. We could always meet at my office afterwards.”
“I really don’t know what to do. Give me a moment to think about it.” Drake recalled Lewis driving an older model of a Hyundai Accent. Granted, it wasn’t a sure way to discern a person’s level of need by the car they drove, but Drake was suddenly impressed in his heart to do something nice for Mr. Lewis. “On second thought…I want you to have the Ford Taurus. I’ll simply bring someone along to pick up the Camry.”
“What? I can’t do that!”
“I didn’t say that I chose you,” Drake joked.
“No…I meant…you know what I meant.”
Drake laughed. “Think of it as my gift to you, my friend – for all of your kind assistance in this entire process.”
In all truth, Lewis needed a new ride. The portion of money Rev. Henderson had left in lawyer fees and freewill bonuses were just enough for Lewis to pay off his one-hundred-and eighty-thousand-dollar mortgage. He had in fact contemplated getting a new car, but didn’t want to go to the bank to borrow the funds.
“I was simply doing my job,” Lewis finally said. “I’m not looking for any favors.”
“Regardless,” Drake said, “I felt led to bless you out of what the Lord has blessed me with. Besides, my wife has always wanted to own a Mercedes. And I’ve already selected a model with the Mercedes dealership. It would be very covetous of Sasha and me to own four cars.”
“But you haven’t talked it over with your wife,” Lewis reminded Drake. “Don’t you think she will want to have a say about how your inheritance is being distributed?”
“I assure you that she’ll be on board with my decision. She’s a freewill giver…”
“Much like yourself, I imagined,” Lewis said. “You are a very unusual man, sir.
A very unusual one indeed.”
Drake smiled, taking Lewis’ words as a compliment. “God bless you, my friend. I will see you soon so that we can celebrate in person.”
Chapter Five
The Smithson Hotel
The hotel clerk, who’d ‘inadvertently’ given Annalise an electronic key to Rena’s room, had come full circle with his guilt. He could no longer keep information from the manager that could help solve the case of the missing handbag. Sure, he may lose his job, but he would rather take the chance than live with this guilt on his conscience. What if things really got out of hand and the damage could be traced back to him?
He would be without a job alright and probably blacklisted from being hired by any other hotel. Under no circumstances, should he have given out a guest’s key to another guest, especially if that particular guest was not registered to that guest’s room. He released a long, drawn out sigh before he tapped a few times on the manager’s office door.
Upon invitation from the manager, the clerk poked his head in. “Good morning, sir. Do you have a few minutes?”
The manager didn’t look up from his computer. “As a matter of fact, I do. Come in, Ty and have a seat. What is this about?”
“About Ms. Henderson’s missing handbag.”
The manager looked up then, giving Ty his full attention. “I’ve been wondering when we were going to have this little chat.”
Ty’s fingers began to twitch in his lap. “So…you knew?”
“I had an idea, but I was not entirely sure.”
“What gave me away?”
“Your subtlety…I’ve never known you to conceal your log of guest transactions in your desk. They are always kept in the ‘OUT’ tray for my perusal.”
Ty’s fingers were now shaking uncontrollably. “What does this means for me?”
“Well, let’s find out. Start talking.”
****
The caption read: Due to adverse situations in the Beckford household, Armando’s concert tour in Devin’s Cay had been canceled indefinitely. In fact, tomorrow – which was a forecasted Wednesday – was supposed to be Armando’s final day on the island before he would take the tour to another Caribbean island, but Armando had several reasons why he didn’t want to leave Devin’s Cay, one of which having to do with his revived infatuation with Rena. How could he even think about leaving now when he hadn’t any idea when he would see Rena again?
And even though Armando felt bad about Rena losing her handbag, he was convinced that fate was keeping her there on the island. If only he hadn’t rushed to marry Annalise, Rena wouldn’t have any reason to resist him. She was a decent girl and he respected that. However, Armando couldn’t control his emotions or his hands for that natter whenever he was around Rena. Every time his gaze landed on her, he wanted to pull her into him and smash his mouth against her rosy lips – like he’d done yesterday in the hotel lobby. Oh how Armando regretted saying “I do” to this wretch of a woman called Annalise.
“Well, it looks as if your little soldiers are marching strong after all,” Annalise announced briskly. A positive pregnancy test was clutched in her right hand.
Armando’s fingers froze on the black piano keys of a Yamaha Motif 8, allowing his stare to slowly rest upon Annalise. “My soldiers?” he queried.
Annalise giggled. “Don’t be so blasé about the news. You told me that you had what it took to transform me into a heterosexual. I’m not quite there yet – but, I must admit, sex with you blew my mind. I never knew it could be so…how should I put it? Fulfilling? However, nothing tops this feeling of knowing that a new life is growing inside of me.”
Armando sighed inwardly. At the time when he’d told Annalise about his goal to turn her away from her lesbian desires, his only intention had been to simply prove to her that ‘straight’ sex was really the way God had intended it to be and that it should be enjoyed between a man and a woman. Granted, they weren’t married as yet, but he was just trying to make a point. However, he hadn’t factored in that a forty-two-year-old woman would be able to get pregnant at the first thrust of his hips.
“Annalise, how sure are you about being pregnant? Because you do know the risk involved with being pregnant at your age?”
“What a way to show your enthusiasm,” she spat. “I thought you would be happy.”
“Truthfully, I don’t know how I really feel about it. For one, I don’t like the idea of a baby coming into this world without being in a stable home.”
“Well, what is your idea of a stable home, Armando?”
Armando swallowed his first response, which would have been to marry a woman who was sure about her sexual identity and preferences. How could he be sure that Annalise wouldn’t tire of him and run off with the next pretty thing in a skirt? Her obsession with the prime minister’s daughter went beyond the sex. It was this unexplainable emotional craving that Annalise had for other women. A connection so deep that it literally turned Annalise into a ravenous beast whenever someone challenged her love of the same sex. But maybe a baby was just what she needed to turn the tide in his favor.
With a stern tone, Armando responded, “I’ve always imagined my children being raised by both father and mother, who were married and happily living under the same roof.”
Annalise stared at Armando a good while before a small smile crept on her face. “Well, I don’t see why that can’t be arranged,” she said. “My relationship with Sabrina is forever ruined and I don’t have any intention of getting my heart torn by other women. And besides, sex with you isn’t so bad…I could get used to that ‘thing’ between your legs.”
Armando cringed at how Annalise described his male member, especially at how she made it sound as if it was some strange exotic fruit, for which an acquired taste would be almost impossible to accomplish. “Things are never that simple, Annalise,” he said. “We both have to be responsible for this new life and frankly, I don’t know if I’m in a position to take on –”
Annalise tossed the pregnancy test at Armando, interrupting his sorry excuse of an explanation. “You should have worn a bloody condom, if you didn’t want a baby! Better yet, you shouldn’t have messed with my mind and made me feel as if you could ‘change’ me. I would have done fine without you barging into my life the way you did.”
She twirled on her heel, yelling over her shoulder as she hastened out of Armando’s presence. “And I’m not getting an abortion, if that’s what you’re suggesting. I’ll kill myself first, if I have to, that way me and this baby won’t have to put up with your empty promises…”
From that point on, Armando’s world had disintegrated into one mass of confusion. He eventually married Annalise, against his better judgment. And although his reason may have been born out of guilt, he’d taken Annalise’s words to heart. His rejection of Annalise might have resulted in her committing suicide, consequently ending his baby’s life as well. He didn’t want such a thing on his conscience. But in retrospect, Armando realized he may have hurt Annalise more than helped her. The marriage in itself was a heartless move – to have deceived a woman into a life that he didn’t really want. Actually, it was unfair to both him and Annalise, because true happiness could never be realized based on lies.
And far be it from him to have only wanted to get out of his marriage because of his desire to be with Rena. Deep down Armando believed his marriage would have dissolved at some point, even if he had never met Rena in life. Because he did not love Annalise – at least not in the way a husband should love his wife. He was just too much of a gentleman to ‘kick’ Annalise to the curb and leave her to make it in life on her own.
It was his own doings; however, seducing Annalise because of a stupid wager to appease his ego. But however silly or however thoughtless his choices had been at the time, his responsibility now was to take care of Annalise like a good husband should. His mother would never let him forget if he ever admitted that she was right about Annalise and his tactless decision to marry her
.
“As you have requested,” Ms. Hive said, pulling Armando from his troubled thoughts, “I have sent a message to our public relations firm in Jamaica, letting them know that the concert has been put off for another time.”
“Thank you.” Armando adjusted his weight in one of the pool chairs he’d been sitting in for the last hour, keeping his weary gaze on Ms. Hive. “Did you get to the others as well?”
“I certainly did. You are free to stay in Devin’s Cay for another month, if you wish. But I suggest that you and Annalise make ready to go back home to Trinidad and begin the healing process.”
“This is my home,” Armando snapped. “I was born and raised here, remember?”
“I did not say that to upset you,” Ms. Hive tried. “But I can see the loss of your daughter has taken a toll on you – on both you and Annalise. Staying here is only going to impede your ability to forget –”
“I don’t want to forget, Emily!” Armando shouted. “The hell’s the matter with you? Do you have any idea was it’s like to deliver a stillborn baby?”
“No…I…”
“Then you should speak with Annalise. Don’t bring your assumptions to me because I’m not in the mood for it.”
Ms. Hive blinked back her shock. Armando rarely called her by her first name, much less raised his voice at her. “You don’t call me by my first name,” she said. “So I know that I’ve greatly upset you. I will leave now before I make the situation worse between you and me. However, I just thought you should know that the crew and I are planning to fly back to Trinidad first thing tomorrow morning.”
Ms. Hive began to walk off, but Armando jumped to his feet and called out to her.
“I’m sorry…I don’t know what got into me.”
Ms. Hive froze in her strides, allowing Armando to catch up with her.
“I have a lot going on with me right now,” he said in a more gentle tone. “But it’s no reason to lash out at you the way I did.”
Ms. Hive was at least twenty years older than Armando and could have used her seniority to give him a good tongue lashing. But she worked for him and the pain that was etched in Armando’s eyes was enough for her to keep her tone respectful.