by Iris Bolling
"You know, you don't have to marry her if you don't love her," Gwen said.
"I can't do that, Mother. I know what you went through."
"But I had your father." She glanced at Avery and smiled. "Who do you have?”
"I have my parents and my family. Who will open their arms and accept Connie as my wife."
"Yes, we will." Gwen smiled as she hugged her son. "We can have the east wing decorated as your new home."
"I can't ask you to do that," Vernon replied. "I'll get an apartment and..."
"Nonsense, son. You will bring your wife here to live with us. You will attend law school and continue to make us proud."
"We'll look out for your family. It will be nice to have little feet running around this place." Gwen smiled.
"If you decide to move later, once you are established, then so be it," Avery added. "But for now, Connie is welcome here." He stood. "Now do your duty and call her mother to ask for her hand in marriage."
"What?" Vernon grinned.
"That's what I had to do for your mother."
"That's right," Gwen added. "It's the right thing to do."
Vernon stood as he shook his head at his parents. "Only you two would find the rainbow in a storm." He dialed Connie’s number. "I need to speak to your mother."
"No hello or how are you?"
"Hello, Connie. How are you?"
"I'm well and so is the baby."
"May I speak with your mother now?" He waited.
"Hello."
"Mrs. Abernathy, my name is Vernon Brooks. This may be a little late, however I'm calling to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."
"Hello, Mr. Brooks. I'm surprised you called. And I'm sorry, so very sorry Connie has pulled you into this marriage thing."
"Excuse me, Mrs. Abernathy."
"It's Bernice, just Bernice." He heard the woman sigh. "I'm afraid I may be responsible for all that's happening. See I love my daughter. I thought warning her against my mistakes she would be guided in a different direction."
"I'm not sure I understand, Mrs. Abernathy."
"It's not Mrs. Abernathy. It's Ms. Abernathy. Connie's father and I were never married. I got pregnant and not much longer after that her father was sent to prison where he later died. I was left to take care of Connie on my own. It wasn't easy, but I made things work. Somewhere along the way I misguided Connie. I told her if you’re going to get pregnant do so by someone who will not end up in jail and will have the means to take care of you and your child. I didn't mean for her to go out and try to trap someone. That's what she did with you, Mr. Brooks. She set out to trap you. I am so sorry. Please know I take full responsibility for what Connie has done. You don't have to marry her. I will talk to her about other options. I don't want to see another life ruined by my mistakes."
"My name is Vernon. Mr. Brooks is my father. As much as you want to take responsibility for Connie's actions, you can't. As my mother told me, Connie had help getting pregnant. She did not do it on her own. So, Ms. Bernice, if it's all the same to you, I would like to make a home for Connie and your grandbaby. Will you give us your blessings?"
"Son, you have my prayers. Connie always wanted more than what she has. My life was never good enough for her. I suppose I instilled that in her--to want more. I just never meant for her to go about it this way."
"Yet, here we are. I say let's make the best of it. We are getting married on Saturday here at my home. It would be an honor to have you with us."
"Connie know you're asking me to come?"
"No, I'll let her know when we finish talking."
"Son, I think you better check with her. I'm more like someone she is ashamed of. She may not want me to be a part of her new life."
Vernon couldn't understand being ashamed of your parents. He loved his parents and depended on their support in all matters. Connie would need that kind of support as well. "It will be an honor to have you as my guest. If you give me your address, I will send a car to pick both of you up."
"I'm in Baltimore, son."
"It's only an hour away. Let me have your address."
That Saturday, Vernon and Connie stood before a judge surrounded by immediate family and said their vows. Vernon gave her a quick kiss on the lips to seal the marriage. Afterwards the family sat down for a formal dinner. Avery sat at one end of the table opposite his wife Gwen. Bernice sat to Gwen's right with James and Nicolas while Vernon, Connie and Nicole sat to her left. The dinner began with Avery giving a toast.
He stood and held up his glass. "Connie." He smiled.
"Constance," she corrected him, holding her glass high and smiling. "I think it sounds better with Brooks."
Vernon noticed the slight descent of his father's smile.
"Very well." He tilted his head slightly towards her. "Gwendolyn and I would like to welcome you to our family. Please know this is now your home. Congratulations on your marriage. May it bring you as much joy as mine has.” He took a drink as others followed. Vernon hesitated then spoke. "Ms. Abernathy, thank you for joining us. You are welcome to visit your daughter at any time."
"Mother works all the time," Connie stated as she glared at her mother, then looked at Vernon with a smile. "She won't be visiting that often. Besides she lives a good distance away." She looked back across the table. "Right, Mother," she said in almost a dare.
Bernice had a straight smile on her face as she held her daughter's eyes. "I'm not one to hold my tongue. May I speak freely?"
"No," Connie replied.
"Yes," Vernon insisted. The family looked uneasily around the table at each other.
"Please feel free," Gwen said as she sat her glass down. "You are now a part of our family as well."
Bernice ignored the look she received from her daughter. "While I am grateful my daughter had the good sense of selecting a kind young man, I have to speak my thoughts. I don't mean to cause trouble..."
"Then don't," Connie stated, frowning at her mother.
"Ms. Abernathy, please. Speak freely. My family is aware of the situation."
"What situation?" Nicole asked, still upset that her Vernon was married.
"One where children should be seen and not heard," Gwen chided her daughter. "Please continue." She nodded at Bernice.
"I know you all will take care of Connie."
"Constance."
"Connie, please don't interrupt your mother. Let her have her say," Vernon said.
"I'll make it quick then I will take my leave. I'm sorry this all happened. I know she is with a good family and I will not interfere in your new life, Connie." She sat forward and stared into her daughter's eyes. "Love is a powerful emotion. I pray somewhere along the way Vernon will find a way to forgive and find some love in his heart for you. I love you, Connie, and did the best I could. It’s now up to you to make a life for yourself. I have a feeling Vernon is not the type you can fool again."
"What, you and Vernon are best buddies now or something?"
"Connie, I don't know you very well," Gwen spoke, "however, the one thing you will learn in this house is to respect your elders. Please don't ever speak to your mother in that tone again in my presence." Gwen held Connie's eyes until she was certain the message was received. She then turned to Bernice. She reached out and patted her hand. "Tell me what you do for a living, Bernice." Gwen began eating as if none of the previous conversation had taken place.
Connie put her napkin on the table and was about to stand when Vernon grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear as if it was a lover's secret. "Disrespect my mother by leaving this table and I will make your life miserable." He gripped her hand tighter, then she slowly sat back down. "Put your napkin in your lap and eat, quickly."
Connie did as she was told seething through every bite.
Later that night, Vernon walked out of his bathroom to find Connie in a silky white teddy lying across the bed. He didn't bother to hold his laughter in. "Do you think for one moment this is a real marriage?"
"Verno
n." Connie slid off the bed and walked towards him. "I'm sorry about dinner tonight. I just wasn't expecting my mother to be here. She can be so ghetto at times. I was embarrassed for her." She touched his bare chest.
He held his hand over hers. "From this point on, you will never be Connie to me again. Constance." He moved her hand away. "You have what you wanted. You're pregnant with my child. You will eat properly, exercise, make all you doctor’s appointments then give birth to a healthy baby." He smiled. "You will sleep in my bed until I have another room cleared for you. I don't love you, Constance, and I doubt I ever will. In fact, I'm fighting hard to like you right now." He walked away from her towards his closet.
"You liked me before. We can go back to that, Vernon."
"No, Constance, we can't." He jumped into her personal space and spoke directly in her face. "You see, you have earned a distinguished place in my heart. Only you reside there. You are in the chamber of never to trust again. You don't have to worry about me touching you ever." He held her eyes for a long moment, then slowly walked out of the room with his clothes in his hand.
Vernon was true to his word. He had a room in the suite cleared for Connie. She was allowed to do all the designing and furnishing to her liking. Gwen even spent time shopping with her and guiding her taste. Vernon never questioned what was spent, only whether she was happy with the final outcome. She tried several times after that first night to seduce him, but he simply was not interested. He attended law school during the day and studied at night. They would hold decent conversations at the dinner table, but he did not have much more to say to her after that. One night she answered his telephone. Genesis was on the other line. Vernon walked in just as Constance was telling her to never call that number again. He took the telephone out of her hand.
"Genesis, I'll call you back." He hung up the phone and turned to her.
She slapped him across the face. "You've been sleeping with her, haven't you?" Tears ran down her face.
"No," Vernon replied. Then in the coldest voice he had ever used on a woman, he said, "If you ever put your hands on me or my baby in a fit of anger I will slice you into mini bites and feed you to the damn fish in the Potomac." He bent down to her face so close she had to feel his breath. "Do I make myself clear?" he asked slowly. He could see the fear in her eyes as she slowly nodded. He stood straight. "Don't ever come into my room without permission. You have the freedom to roam in any other rooms in the suite. My room, however, is private and off limits to you." The lines had been drawn. Constance now knew her boundaries when it came to him. The months following he believed she had come to terms with things. As had he. She had unlimited access to his bank account, credit cards and other assets. So she could live the life of luxury she always wanted.
The next time they spent any time together was at Taylor's birth. Constance tried to deny him access to the birthing room, but Vernon insisted. When Taylor came out she went into his arms. With the aid of a nurse, he washed his newborn baby, wrapped her in her pink blanket, then placed her on her mother's chest.
"She's beautiful, Constance. Thank you."
For the first time, they seemed like a family.
Vernon called Bernice. "You have a beautiful granddaughter. Her name is Taylor and she is a healthy 5 lbs. 6 oz. bundle of joy."
"Thank you, Vernon. How is Connie?"
"Constance is doing well. Come by the hospital to see her. I'm sure she would like to see her mother."
Bernice laughed. "You and I know that's not true, son, but thank you for the sentiment."
"Well, I'd like to see you and so would your grandbaby."
Bernice hesitated. "I'll see if I can get off from work."
"I'll see you when you get here." Vernon hung up the phone. "You should have called your mother."
"Why? I don't need anything from her," Connie replied as she fed the baby. "And neither does Taylor."
"You and Taylor need her love."
"Love got me a husband who despises me."
"No, greed got you that." He reached for the white diaper, put it over his shoulder then took his daughter. He walked around the room with her on his shoulder as he rubbed her back.
"You look good doing that."
"I think I'm a natural."
"Can we agree to try to get along for her sake?"
"We get along just fine." The baby burped. "See, she agrees." Vernon smiled.
For the next year Vernon attended school then came home to his baby girl. He would run up the stairs, anxious to see her every evening. He would sit in the rocker and hold his Taylor until she fell asleep at night. On the weekends, he would take her to visit with Bernice. The first weekend the sedan pulled up to the address he had for Bernice. The area had row homes, with graffiti on every surface the eyes could see. The street was flooded with garbage and debris. However, the area directly in front of the address was clear. There were signs of previous markings on the door that had been washed away.
"Mr. Brooks, are you sure this is where you should be?" his driver asked.
Vernon looked around as he unstrapped Taylor from her car seat.
"We shall see," he replied.
He wrapped Taylor in her pink blanket to match her pink and white outfit, then walked up the one step and knocked on the door.
Bernice Abernathy looked stunned. "Vernon, what are you doing here?"
He held the baby up. "We came to visit Grandma."
Bernice’s eyes lit up as she wiped her hands on her housedress. "Oh, isn't she pretty. Please come in," she said as she stepped back.
Vernon put the baby in her arms then motioned back to the driver. He closed the door, then scanned around the small apartment. It was clean, well furnished and had the feel of home. From what he could see, there was a small kitchen, a hallway that he assumed led to the bedrooms, one bath and the living room, where they now sat. "You have a nice home, Ms. Bernice. But you know Taylor is going to need a back yard to play in if she comes to visit Grandma."
Bernice looked around. "I'm afraid we don't have much of a backyard here, Taylor," she cooed as she played with the baby."
"I don't want to seem out of place but I'm a man of considerable means. I'd be happy to get a place with a nice yard for you somewhere close to where you work."
"Thank you, Vernon. That's a very nice offer, but I am certain my daughter is keeping your bank account rather active."
"Constance could live a lifetime and not put a dent in my bank account. Taylor and I plan on spending time with you. It is important to me that she knows both sides of her family."
"How does Connie feel about that?"
"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask."
Bernice placed the baby on her shoulder as she rubbed her back. "I can see Connie has met her match."
"Constance and I have different opinions about family values. I value mine while she doesn't seem to care one way or another."
"I am afraid I may be to blame for that. My family members choose to live on the side of the law that puts you behind bars. I wanted a different life for Connie. So we did not spend a lot of time with them. It was the two of us and I did not teach her a lot about family values."
"Ms. Bernice, Constance is a grown woman. You can't keep blaming yourself for her shortcomings. I am now her husband. It's my responsibility to see to her needs. She needs her mother to be in a safe environment so she can spend time with her granddaughter." He hesitated not wanting to push. "Just think about it. We'll be back next week. We can talk more about it then."
It took him months to convince her, but he finally moved her from the little apartment in the middle of the city to a nice rancher with a yard outside the city. He gave her a car so she could get to her job. Since he paid for the house and the car, she only had to work the one job she enjoyed the most. Constance came to visit the one time he insisted. He and his mother gave Bernice a small housewarming party. It was a beautiful sunny day and they decided to cookout in the yard. They met a few of Bernice’s friends w
hom she’d invited over. The women were funny as hell. They laughed and danced the day away. Constance was standoffish and tended to treat the women who helped to raise her as if they had some type of disease. Vernon never insisted she go again. He continued to carry Taylor to visit with Bernice, alone. They would play with the baby in the yard for hours and just talk. He learned a lot about her life and Constance’s childhood. He liked Bernice. Despite her daughter’s objections he made sure Bernice had a relationship with Taylor until the day she died.
During those early years, Vernon worked hard at establishing his law firm. He never disrespected Constance by taking women out in public or bringing them to their home. The first time he saw Constance out with a man he was at a lunch meeting with a client. When the two walked in holding hands, Vernon felt a touch of something. It wasn't jealousy. It was anger. Here he was, working long hours to establish and earn a life for them and she was out enjoying life on his dime. Something snapped in him that day. However, he was a Brooks. Brooks never acted out in public. But he was also a man and his wife was sitting five tables away with another man.
He motioned for the check as he wrapped things up with his client. He waited until his client was out of the door before approaching the table. "Good evening." He stood at the table where Constance and her date sat.
"Vernon." Constance pulled her hand way from the man and looked around nervously. "What are you doing here?"
Vernon smiled. "I just finished a meeting with a client. How about you?"
"Having dinner with a friend."
The man stood and extended his hand. "Gary Hines, and you are?"
"Vernon Brooks, her husband," he replied as he shook the man's hand and held it with both of his. He turned to glare at Constance. "I don't ask for a lot. Discretion is something I must insist on."
"Look,” Gary, looking embarrassed, began to speak.
Vernon looked at him and pointed to Constance. "Talking to her." He turned to look at Constance. "When I'm not home, I expect you to be with our child. Other than that you are free to indulge in extramarital activities in your spare time. However, your job is to be a mother, first and foremost. Do we understand each other?"