Blessings From the Father

by Michelle Larks

  “Hmmm, Granny likes you too.” Mariah snuggled against Carson. Then she pulled away from him. “I guess we should be getting back, before someone wanders in to check on us.”

  Carson grabbed her hand and they returned to the dining room.

  Lola finally left the house thirty minutes later. She stared suspiciously at Mariah when she thought Mariah wasn’t looking at her.

  As the evening progressed, Mariah felt more comfortable with Carson’s family. She loved the way the family interacted with one another. Carson was a caring father, solicitous of his daughters’ feelings. Ashanti was warm with Mariah. The younger girl’s personality was much like her father’s, while Aaliyah was aloof.

  The men retired to the rec room to watch the basketball game. The women sat around the dining room table talking. Mariah confided in Carson’s mother and sisters her plans for opening the transitional home. The Palmer women were impressed by the young woman and offered to help in any way they could.

  Mariah could not help but feel the love in the room. There were family dynamics present that she wished had been present with herself, Rosemary, and Cassie. She knew Rosemary would have enjoyed being with the Palmer family that evening.

  Finally at eight o’clock, Mariah excused herself and decided to go home. She walked to the rec room and gestured to Carson.

  They stood in the hallway. “I’m going to go home,” she informed him.

  “Do you have to leave now?” Carson asked as they walked upstairs and to the foyer.

  “Yes. I might go back to the city tomorrow and go Christmas shopping with Granny.”

  “You’re welcome to hang out with me and the girls tomorrow,” Carson offered as he removed Mariah’s coat from the closet.

  “I know. But I think I need to come around them a little bit more before I intrude on your time with them.”

  “Fair enough.” Carson held up his hands in a conceding manner. He held Mariah’s coat, and she slipped it on. Carson was at her side as she bid everyone farewell. She thanked Mrs. Palmer for having her to dinner.

  “It was my pleasure,” the older woman preened. “We enjoyed having you. Thank you for bringing the pie. It tasted wonderful. Don’t be a stranger, and you don’t have to wait on Carson to bring you here, feel free to stop by anytime,” Helen told Mariah warmly.

  “Thank you so much, Mrs. Palmer. I may take you up on that.” Mariah grinned.

  Ashanti walked to Mariah. “It was nice meeting you, Ms. Mari. I hope to see you again.” She smiled shyly at Mariah.

  “It was nice meeting you and your sister,” Mariah responded. She looked at Aaliyah. The young girl looked past Mariah.

  Carson grabbed his jacket out of the closet. “I’ll walk you to the car.”

  The pair walked outside and down the block to Mariah’s car. Carson took the keys from Mariah’s hand. He unlocked and opened the car door. Mariah got inside the car. She started the car, and rolled the window down. “I had a great time. Your family is awesome. I’ll call you when I get home,” she promised.

  Carson leaned into the open window and kissed Mariah. “Please do.”

  She shifted the car into drive and pulled off. She glanced back and Carson stood in on the stairway waving at her. She tooted her horn.

  Before long Mariah arrived home. She parked the SUV in the driveway, and walked inside the house. She took off her coat and hung it in the closet. After she turned on the lights in the living room, Mariah kicked her shoes off, and tucked her legs on the sofa. She then mulled over the day’s events.

  Her cell phone rang interrupting her thoughts. “Hello,” she said after pulling the phone from the bottom of her purse.

  “Hey, Mari. How was your day?” Sonyell asked.

  “Good and bad,” Mariah answered truthfully.

  “Tell me the bad first, then the good,” Sonyell prompted Mariah. She crossed her legs as she reclined in the bed. Sasha was having fun with her cousins in Marvin and Ashley’s hotel suite.

  “Well, you know, I went to Granny’s house and everything was going well, except Granny didn’t mention that she’d invited Cassie to dinner. Things went well for about five minutes and then Cassie started with her usual sob story. You know the drill, how Granny puts me before her. Things went downhill after that and Cassie ended up storming out.”

  “That’s too bad,” Sonyell stated. “I know your grandmother wants all of you to get along.” Sonyell picked the remote control from the nightstand, and powered on the television.

  “That wasn’t the worst. Cassie has been hinting about a mystery surrounding my birth, and she acts like she has the goods on Granny or something,” Mariah admitted. “She’s been doing that for a while.”

  “You didn’t tell me about that,” Sonyell exclaimed. She dropped the remote control on the bed.

  “I didn’t mention it because I assumed it was because Cassie was high. But now I’m not sure,” Mariah said indecisively.

  “Talk to your grandmother again, that’s all you can do,” Sonyell opined. She picked up the remote and channel surfed.

  “You’re right, but sometimes I’m scared to. I know whatever happened had to be bad.”

  “I’m going to repeat this again, talk to your grandmother. She is the only one who can clear the matter up.”

  “Okay, I will, when the time is right,” Mariah promised. “You know I went to Carson’s parents’ house for dinner, right?”

  “Yes, I know. How did that go?” Sonyell inquired nosily.

  “Pretty good. His family was nice, although I know his sisters were giving me the once-over. Of course they asked me fifty million questions. That wasn’t the bad part. His ex-wife, who, I might add, is drop-dead gorgeous, dropped his daughters off at his parents’ house. If looks could kill, I would be dead.” Mariah flexed her hand.

  “She was that bad?” Sonyell asked in an incredulous tone of voice. Her eyes widened.

  “I tried to play it off. But yes, she was pretty bad. His oldest daughter was very wary of me. She was a clone of her mother.”

  “What about the youngest girl? How was she?” Sonyell craved details.

  “She was a sweetie. I really liked her. She reminds me a lot of Carson. She even looks like him.”

  “Well, one out of two isn’t bad,” Sonyell quipped. “Suppose neither one of them liked you?” She smoothed her top down which had risen up.

  “You have a point there. Carson invited me to hang with him and the girls.”

  “What did you tell him?” Sonyell took a can of Pepsi from the nightstand and sipped.

  “I told him I didn’t want to intrude on their father-daughter time. I think I need to be around them a little longer”

  “Go with your instinct.” Sonyell set the can down on the nightstand. “But if the relationship is going to move forward, then you need to get to know his daughters.”

  “You’re right.” Mariah sighed. “I could tell Carson wants me to spend time with all of them.”

  “You got yourself a package deal, girl. I’m so proud of you,” Sonyell teased her friend. “You are a true case of never say never.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. Enough about me; how is Michael?” Mariah changed the subject.

  “He’s good. Making all the promises he usually does when he’s about to be released. Oh, I forgot, he wanted me to find out if there is something he can do, as in work for you?”

  “Is he going to live with you and Sasha?” Mariah asked. “Doesn’t he have to stay in the city and not cross state lines?”

  “If he had been released on parole then that would have been the case. But, he’s served his sentence. He just wants to find a job.”

  “I hadn’t thought about it,” Mariah responded. “Let me think about it.”

  “I don’t want you to feel obligated. However way you decide is fine with me.”

  “Where’s Sasha? I know it’s too early for her to be asleep.”

  “She’s spending the night with Marvin and Ashley. Their room has
an adjoining suite for the girls. So Ashley invited Sasha to stay with the girls.”

  “I know Sasha is enjoying that. So do you think Michael is ready to make a change this time? Is he a reformed man?”

  “You know Michael.” Sonyell exhaled loudly. “He has the best intentions in the world for about two weeks after his release date. Then things change quickly. Sasha is older and she is already asking Michael hard questions. That’s why I don’t want you to feel obligated to help him. Let’s just wait and see how he’s acting by week three.”

  “Girl, you know you’re not any good.” Mariah laughed.

  “Seriously though, I can put out some feelers. I have a few associates who own their own businesses. I can do some checking.”

  “Miss Nedra has been talking to Reverend Dudley. Maybe he might be able to come up with something.”

  “You didn’t answer me, Sonni. Is Michael going to live with you?”

  Sonyell tittered nervously. “I really haven’t decided. Sasha asked me the same question. My heart wants to say yes, but my head says wait until week three is up.”

  “That sounds reasonable to me.”

  “I guess we both have some hard decisions to make. Like you talking to Granny.”

  “I guess we do. I also sense Ms. Lola, that’s Carson’s ex, still has feelings for him. You know I don’t want to have to deal with baby momma drama.”

  “Don’t let Satan steal your happiness. You better claim that man, because he has surely claimed you. I think he just wants to see how well you get along with his daughters. So be cautious, but still take the time to get to know them. Girl, you’d better claim that fine man God has sent to you.”

  The friends shared peals of laughter.

  “I’m going to let you go. Did you talk to Rocki?” Mariah asked Sonyell.

  “I did this morning; she texted me this afternoon. She planned to hit the clubs with her cousins. I’m sure she’s out having a good time right about now.”

  “I talked to her this morning too. Okay, sista, I’m going to call Granny and then I am going to settle in for the night. Oh, I found some journals belonging to my father. When I get the time, I plan to read them.”

  “Good idea. Where did you find them and how many did you find?”

  “In the corner of the attic in a trunk. I think there are about twenty or more volumes. A part of me wants to read them. And, the other part doesn’t. Silly, huh?” Mariah snickered nervously.

  “No, not silly, just overly cautious like you tend to be. You know everything you want to know about your dad can be found in those books. Don’t you?”

  “Yeah. I’ve just been so busy I haven’t had time to read them. I will get around to doing that soon.”

  “Okay. Have a good night.”

  “You too, Sonni. I love you.”

  “Love you too, Mari.”

  The friends ended the call.

  Mariah laid her head against the back of the sofa. Then she sat up, swung her legs off the sofa, put her shoes on her feet, and went upstairs to the attic. She walked to a corner of the room and opened a black and gold antique steamer trunk. Mariah bent over and she removed a few journals from the trunk. She opened one journal to see the time frame of the book. It took her a few minutes before she removed two black leather-bound journals, labeled volumes 1 and 2.

  She closed the trunk, turned off the lights, and returned to the living room. She laid the books on an end table and picked up the remote control. She clicked the television on and stared at the journals. “I wonder what secrets you hold,” she said aloud. Then she stared at the television until it stared back at her.

  Chapter Twenty

  On Tuesday, a week before Christmas, Mariah sat at her desk in her office at work. She was looking over the final version of the paperwork to be submitted to the city of Hammond for the transitional home. Attorney Cook had faxed the papers to her that morning. The office was silent save for Mariah flipping the pages as she read. When she was done, a rush of adrenaline surged through her body. She was another step closer to realizing her dream. Mariah picked up the telephone and called the lawyer. After they exchanged greetings, Mariah effusively exclaimed, “William, good job. I am quite pleased. I just hope we hear something favorable from Hammond in the not too distant future.”

  “Thank you, Mariah. These matters take time, but I am sure we will hear something one way or the other within sixty days or so. We may have to make modifications to our proposal, but I know the transaction will eventually be approved.”

  “That sounds good. I know the process takes time. I am impatient to get the project started.” Mariah tapped an ink pen on the desk.

  “Just be patient.” Attorney Cook chuckled. “I planned to call you anyway to tell you that the attorney handling the estate of the house next door to yours called this morning to inform me the court finally approved the sale of the property. You should be able to close on the house next month after the first of the year.”

  “That’s more good news,” Mariah cried happily. “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy staying in my father’s house, but it’s too big for me. I am so ready to move into my own house.”

  “I understand. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “I can’t think of anything else at this minute. I will call you back if anything else comes up. William, have a great holiday,” Mariah told him happily.

  “You too, Mariah. Merry Christmas.”

  The telephone call ended.

  Mariah pushed the button on the phone connecting her to Sonyell’s office. Then she disconnected the call. She remembered today was the day Michael was to be released from prison and Sonyell had taken the day off. Mariah quickly dialed Carson’s number. She told him the good news.

  “That’s great news. A celebration is in order. How about going out to dinner tonight?”

  “I had actually planned to do some Christmas shopping. I’ve decided to have the holiday dinner at my house. I figured if the weather becomes inclement, everyone can spend the night there.”

  “Do you want company? I should probably ask what kind of shopping you’re doing first,” Carson teased her.

  “Well, you may want to pass on joining me. I’m planning on going to Carson Pirie Scott to buy gifts for Granny, Sonni, and Rocki. Then I’m going to head over to Best Buy to get a Wii system for Sasha. I wanted to ask you about buying gifts for your girls. What do you think?”

  “I guess so. Best Buy sounds like fun, and Carson not so much fun. I plan on finishing up around here at five o’clock. I can pick you up around five-thirty and after shopping we can have dinner. I have a taste for Mexican food. How about Pepi?”

  “That sounds like a plan. I have an idea of what I’m buying everyone, so shopping shouldn’t take long. The timing will just depend on the crowd.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Uh, Mari, are you buying something for your mother? Do you plan on inviting her to dinner on Christmas?”

  “I . . . I don’t know,” Mariah replied guiltily. “I guess so. I will never hear the end of it from Granny if I don’t get her anything. I’ll have to think about it some more. I still have flashbacks of the disaster on Thanksgiving.”

  “You should be patient, and most of all remember the scripture, be forgiving. Obviously something in the past has caused her destructive behavior. Once you figure that out, and confront her with it, maybe she’ll get help. Who knows, maybe your relationship will get better.”

  “I doubt that.” Mariah snorted. “I asked Granny again if there was anything she wanted to tell me about my father and mother, and she said no. But, I know she’s keeping something from me. I guess she’ll tell me in her own time. I don’t want to pressure her too much considering her medical conditions: asthma and hypertension.”

  “Okay, babe, I’ve got to run. I’ll see you later.”

  “Talk to you later.” Mariah pressed a button and ended the call. She sat back in her chair and felt a sense of contentment. Life was certainly grand.
Her plan was making progress, even if it was baby steps. Her relationship with Carson was deepening. The only problem was Lola. She seemed to have no sense of boundary where Carson was concerned.

  The couple had gone to a movie a couple of weeks ago, when Carson’s cell phone vibrated. He excused himself and went to the lobby to return the call. One of the toilets in Lola’s condominium had backed up and she wanted Carson to come over and look at it. Carson ended up sending Alex over to the house, much to Lola’s chagrin.

  Lola had dropped over at Carson’s house unexpectedly a couple of times, causing Carson to cancel his and Mariah’s plans. Mariah had made her displeasure known to Carson, and asked why he didn’t put a stop to Lola shenanigans. Mariah was tired of Lola calling Carson at the hint of any trouble.

  Carson had looked into Mariah’s eyes and said his daughters were the reasons why. Mariah mustered up the courage to ask Carson if he thought Lola was still in love with him. He hesitated before he finally responded that he didn’t think so. He further explained how Lola was territorial and she didn’t want to let go. Carson reassured Mariah that he didn’t love Lola in a romantic way, but he had feelings for his ex as the mother of his children.

  He further explained about his ex-wife’s competitive and jealous nature. That’s what had broken up the marriage. In the past, Lola had run off a few women Carson had dated along with Aaliyah’s help. Carson pleaded with Mariah to be patient with him; he planned on changing how he responded to Lola’s requests. Mariah told him that she would.

  Mariah closed eyes. Her body was relaxed as the smooth jazz sounds from the radio serenaded her. She opened her eyes and turned her attention back to her work, looking forward to her date with Carson.

  That evening after filling Carson’s truck with bags after a shopping spree at Carson Pirie Scott on Indianapolis Boulevard, Carson and Mariah feasted on tacos and chicken fajitas at Pepi’s Restaurant.

  “That was good,” Mariah proclaimed. “I haven’t had Mexican food in a while.” She wiped her hands on a napkin and sipped from a glass of 7 Up.