I flood the room with light. One message is from Arlene. My publisher wants to know how the lawsuit is going. Next, my booking agent calls. He wants to know what happened to me today. I was a no-show at Lemoyne-Owen College and the dean is pissed off at me.
“Damn.” I have to e-mail the dean. With my Rolodex still not in sight, I make up my mind to turn my office upside down until I find it.
I sip on wine, rummage, sip on wine, and rummage again. I’m almost finished with the bottle of wine and I feel exhausted. I’m ready to give up when I locate the Rolodex in one of the trash cans. How in the hell did it get in here?
I take a seat at my desk and flip through the Rolodex. I find the dean’s e-mail address. I turn on my computer and wait for it to boot. That done, I log on to the Internet and my e-mail account.
I exhale, think rationally, and come up with a plausible excuse for missing my engagement this afternoon.
Dean Whitcomb, I’m very sorry for missing my engagement this afternoon. I was very honored to be asked to speak at your prestigious school and be a part of the festivities. However, I’m going through a stressful divorce and the appointment slipped my mind. I hope that you’ll allow me to reschedule and give a speech that your students will be proud of hearing. Of course, there will be no fee. Please call me if you have any questions or concerns.
I turn off my computer, shut off the lights, and go back downstairs to my bedroom. I undress, shower, and slip on one of my favorite nightgowns.
I flip on the television set to Lifetime. A movie is on with Blair Underwood and an actress than I’m unfamiliar with. Blair makes me think of Herman.
My home phone rings. It’s Jett.
“Where’ve you been?”
“None of your business.”
“Like I told you yesterday, you’re still my wife.”
“Temporarily,” I say.
“Don’t ever underestimate me, Charity. You don’t know what I’m capable of.” He hangs up.
I lie on my back and stare up at the ceiling. Unexpected tears form in my eyes. I have to ask myself, would Jett actually hurt me?
40
The second week of trial is full of surprises. Lynzee keeps staring at me throughout the trial. I could swear that I notice tears in her eyes. Her emotional instability eats away at my heart. From where I’m sitting, I can’t tell if she’s high on Percocet. I pray that she tossed the prescription and is on her way to being sober again. I wish we could just get our lives back to normal and forget about all of this stupid shit. But that’s not going to happen. This trial is real, and the lawsuit is clear.
I don’t know how Lynzee’s attorney’s found so many witnesses to sing her praises. Most of her friends and family members know that Lynzee turned into a Cruella De Ville diva when she became rich. Her attitude was that the world owed her something, and no one could treat her well enough to thank her for gracing the American public with her auspicious talent.
I thank God that Mama didn’t live to see her eldest daughter turn into the Wicked Witch of the West. She would have put Lynzee in her place. By the time Mama finished telling Lynzee that she wasn’t God’s gift to publishing, Lynzee would have been as humbled as an elf.
But as the days pass, I sneak looks at Lynzee and see how miserable she really is. She’s never been married, never had a man love her more than he loves himself. She doesn’t know what it feels like to have a normal lifestyle with a spouse, kids, and church. She doesn’t know what it feels like to sleep in the bed with a man who loves her garlicky breath, and who would bathe her down with baby wipes if she ever became incapacitated.
The only thing she knows is money and power. Now she has neither, and the thought has got to be killing her. I’ve just learned from Kai that Tyler doesn’t want to have anything to do with her mother anymore. Tyler blames Lynzee for talking her into marrying Raymond. She’s been miserable ever since. Presently, she’s trying to see if she can get the marriage annulled.
Then there’s April. Ever since Jett came into the picture, April hasn’t had any use for Lynzee either. April doesn’t come to the trial to support her mother or show her concern. No, Lynzee is sitting there alone with two attorneys whose only purpose is dragging out this trial as long as they can so that they can get a hefty fee from Lynzee.
Javed found out where Lynzee is staying while she’s in Memphis; The Marriott Courtyard downtown. The other night, I sent her a settlement letter offering her three hundred thousand dollars. I still haven’t heard back from her.
While listening to Teddy’s cross-examinations of Lynzee’s witnesses, I can tell that our side is making headway and making her witnesses look like liars. I’m able to discern by the looks that the judge is giving Lynzee’s counsel that he’s tiring of the long line of witnesses that are basically all saying the same thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he put a stop to it and made them either put Lynzee on the stand or hand the case over to the defense attorneys.
But that doesn’t happen, and as each week goes by, the temperature gets hotter and my patience gets shorter.
By the end of August, I learn from the twins that Jett drives by my house several times at night, making sure that Herman’s car isn’t there. He hasn’t stopped the divorce proceedings, yet is all up in my business.
Teddy doesn’t do divorce cases, so I have to hire another attorney for the divorce. I retain a female attorney, Molly Russell. She asked for a $25,000 retainer to take the case. I am appalled. When an attorney thinks you have a little cash stashed, they come down hard in your pockets, and there’s very little that you can do about it.
I call at least twelve more attorneys. The retainer is around the same amount, and some are even higher, as much as $50,000. I decide to stick with Molly. The thought of having money now is making me sick. Lynzee, Jett, and Molly all have their hands out. Do they think I get fifteen million a book like Stephen King? I still have to pay my agent out of that advance and pay income taxes on that money.
When you get your advance from a publisher, they don’t take any taxes out of it. You get a 1099 at the end of the year. A good agent tells you to pay your taxes quarterly, so that you’re not shocked by a hefty tax bill at the end of the year. A number of black authors didn’t pay their taxes and got in serious trouble with the IRS. Knowing that, I pay my taxes quarterly like any person with common sense would do.
One night, to my shock, I run into April and Jett at Kroger’s grocery store. Jett refuses to speak, but April says hello. I say hello back and continue on about my business. It hurts like hell to see the two of them together. I brush back tears and push on. I make it my business to start grocery shopping at Schnucks so that I won’t run into them again.
Since April came to town, Jett has only seen his sons twice. I try to tell my sons that their Dad loves them. “Then why doesn’t he come by our apartment?” Javed asks.
“Because he’s at April’s place all of the time,” Jamone adds. “You’d think that girl was his woman instead of his daughter.”
That hurt, especially since I was thinking the same thing. Why is Jett spending so much time with April? I told him about her sexual proclivities toward women. Didn’t it matter? Or was that another lie that Lynzee told?
To my stunned surprise, I get a call from Tyler while I’m in my bedroom watching 24. I’ve got on a pair of black-and-pink pajamas and have retired early tonight.
“Hello, sweetie. How’re you feeling?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“Your baby is due next month, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s a boy.”
“I know you’re proud.”
“Not really. I’m going to give the baby up for adoption. Please don’t tell me not to do what my mother did. I already know the repercussions. But I’ve given this a lot of thought. I want to finish my education at Harvard. You heard about me and Raymond, didn’t you?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Our marriage was annulled. I’m living in a dorm with
a roommate.”
“No, Tyler, I didn’t know.”
“Getting married was stupid. Raymond and I were too young to know what we were doing. All we knew is that we had great sex together.” She sighed. “But enough about that. I called you for another reason. I want to be one of your witnesses. I’ve read all the blogs about the trial, and I know that you need help.”
“What? Why?” I sit up in the bed and turn on the light.
“My mother has always been jealous of you. She used to talk about you so bad to me, it was pitiful. She was worried that you’d outsell her one day. I overheard her on the telephone talking to her editor about getting you blacklisted. She’s positively guilty of defaming your name and putting your career in jeopardy. I couldn’t understand how she could be so cruel. Then I found out about April. And I found out that she didn’t dump Uncle Jett, he dumped her.”
Now things are beginning to become crystal clear. Why didn’t Jett tell me that he broke it off with Lynzee?
“Anyway, April didn’t come looking for Mom. Mom sought her out. She wanted to ruin your marriage and career.”
How sick. I don’t know what I’ve done to make Lynzee resent me so much. How could I have been so gullible?
“I’m shocked, Tyler. I had no idea that your Mom’s hatred of me ran so deep.”
“Oh, it’s deep. It started when you married Uncle Jett, and got worse after you got a book contract. Of course, I wasn’t born then, but I’ve heard Mom talking about it enough times to Zedra. Mom doesn’t know that I know that she and Zedra have done the wild thing. I almost busted them one time.”
“My Lord. I don’t know what to say.” I write down a few notes on the pad on my nightstand for Teddy.
“So, do you want me to testify?”
“I don’t know, honey. You shouldn’t be traveling right now.”
“I can come after the baby is born. I think he’s coming early. My stomach has already dropped.” She pauses. “Please, please let me testify, Aunt Charity. It’s about time that Mom paid her dues. I know that you’ve never done anything to harm her. And Aunt Charity—”
“Yes?”
“The reason I stopped calling Javed and Jamone is because I found out the truth about April. The entire cousin/sister thing made me sick. I was so ashamed of being my mom’s daughter I couldn’t bear to keep up the pretense. I didn’t want to lie to my cousins anymore.” She begins to cry. “Do you hate me, Aunt Charity?”
“Of course not. None of this is your fault. You’re too young to understand the depth of your mother’s deception. And you were too young to stop her. So, no, honey, I don’t blame you. I thank you for telling me the truth. Especially about your mom contacting April. A few things make more sense now.”
“Thank you, Auntie. I’ve got a new cell phone number. Write it down.” She calls out the numbers as I jot them down. “Thanks, Tyler. I’ll keep in touch. You call me if you need anything.”
“I get money from school. I’m doing okay. But the offer for me to testify still stands. I can even buy my own ticket.”
“That won’t be necessary, honey. Now, you get some rest, you hear? I’ll call you back real soon, okay?”
“Okay. I love you, Aunt Charity.”
“And I love you, Tyler. Goodnight sweetie.” I hang up. Tears spring up in my eyes. I feel pity and hatred for Lynzee all at the same time. Now she’s even got her own daughter turning against her. Now she has no one. She only has her millions to keep up the fake pretense of appearing to be happy. What a damn shame.
It’s twenty minutes past nine. I call Kai.
“Hey, Kai, it’s me. You won’t believe who just called me.”
I take the next fifteen minutes repeating everything that Tyler told me. Kai isn’t the least bit surprised. She’s happy that Tyler had her marriage annulled. Kai believes in education, and she didn’t feel that Lynzee was doing Tyler justice by allowing her to birth a child so young, especially since she received a full scholarship to an Ivy League school.
“What do you think about her testifying for me?” I ask.
“I wouldn’t do it, Charity. If Tyler testifies against her mother, it will cause irrefutable damage between mother and daughter. You don’t want to have that egg on your face. Trying to pit mother against daughter is like playing with fire. You’ll get burned every time.”
“You’re probably right.”
“How’s the trial going?”
“The same. Nothing new. Lynzee is running out of witnesses, and now her case seems weak.”
“It’s just like Teddy predicted. He knew Lynzee didn’t stand a chance. So, Charity, what about the counter suit? Are you going to sue Lynzee for ten million?”
“Gosh, no. I told my lawyer to drop that. I don’t need nor want her money. I’ve had enough. I just want my life to go back to normal.”
“How can it with Jett gone and April in the picture?”
“That’s a tough question.”
“And what about Herman? He told me how he felt about you.”
“You talk to Herman?”
“Hell, yeah. I knew that man wasn’t gay. I got his number before I left the first time. The only reason I backed off is because of his feelings for you.”
“That was gracious of you.”
“So…how do you feel about Herman?”
“Like he’s still my friend. Look, I’ve loved Jett for thirty years. I can’t turn my emotions on and off like a faucet.”
“I’ve seen it done before.”
I flip the channel to the ten o’clock news. “Not in this camp.”
“I’ve got to hand it to you, you’re loyal.”
I scratch my right foot, and then cross my legs. “I’m a married woman. Until I’m divorced, I’m not screwing around with anyone.”
“And what if Jett does?”
“Then it’s over for good. He won’t get a second chance.”
“I don’t think that’s true. I believe you’d take him back.”
“You’re wrong, Kai. I won’t be disrespected by him again.”
“Then be ready to rein in your ego. A good-looking man like Jett won’t have to go looking for a hot piece of ass. The ass is going to come to him.”
After our call is over, I think about what Kai said. Am I being stupid? Should I worry about Jett screwing around on me? Or should I be worried about a woman who’s been waiting to steal my man?
41
Finally, Lynzee’s attorneys are finished with their witnesses.
As expected, Lynzee doesn’t testify. Now, it’s our turn, and Teddy and our team are ready for a knock-down, kick-ass fight.
Tyler called again. She had her baby son and put him up for adoption. She asked for the second time that she be able to testify. I told Teddy and he said, “We’ll wait and see how things go. Maybe we’ll use her. Maybe not.”
Unlike Lynzee’s lawyers, Teddy does plan to have me testify, and I can’t wait until it’s my turn to get up on the stand. I’ll show her jealous ass a thing or two.
After the trial one Wednesday evening, I decide to stop by the twins’ apartment. Fortunately, they’re both at home. Javed lets me in. The place is a complete mess. There are clothes and empty pizza boxes all over the living room. I drop my purse and start cleaning up the place.
Javed insists, “Mom, you don’t have to do this. Me and Jamone were planning to clean the place up tomorrow.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Yeah, sure.”
Javed peeps outside. “I like the new ride. Can I take it for a spin? I want to see how that baby will perform on the freeway.”
I’m in the kitchen now, looking at the mess they’ve created in there. It’s going to take me at least an hour to get this place decent. “Go ahead, Javed. The keys are in my purse.”
“Hold up. Let me wake up Jamone. I know he’d want to check out the new Beamer too.” He comes back into the kitchen. “Jamone’s getting dressed.”
Javed puts on his shoes, and I begin the clea
nup process. I remove my tan suit jacket and place it on the sofa. When I return to the kitchen, Jamone comes up behind me and kisses me on the cheek.
“Hi, Mom. It’s good to see you.” Jamone has on a Lakers shorts set, and I’m amazed to see that Javed has on the same outfit.
“What’s up?” I ask. “Are you two dressing alike again?”
“No way,” they say in unison.
Javed says, “We got a deal on these outfits. It’s just a onetime thang.”
Jamone opens the blinds and light floods in. “I see the ride, Mom. Javed said you’re going to let us take it for a spin?”
“Just be back by the time I finish cleaning up this joint.”
They rush outside. I can hear them arguing over who’s going to drive first. Finally, Javed takes the lead and Jamone gets in the passenger seat.
I’m in my element cleaning up my sons’ place. It feels good to feel needed again. Like I’ve taught them since they were six years old, they’ve got good cleaning products, thank God.
By the time I finish cleaning out the microwave, the boys are back. “Look, boys, I don’t want to see this place this filthy again. I raised you two better than that. What if I wanted to bring Herman over here to see your place? You’d embarrass the hell out of me.”
Jamone hands me the keys. “What’s up with you and Herman, Mom? Dad told us that you two had dinner together.”
That big-mouth bastard. I put my jacket back on. “Oh, it was nothing. I love Herman like the brother I never had.”
Jamone speaks up. “We’re not slow, Mom. We see the way that Herman constantly checks you out. Uh-huh. And it’s not like a brother who cares about his sister.”
Javed nods. “Any fool can see that he’s got it bad for you.”
I straighten the pillows on the sofa again. “Stop nosing around in things that are none of your business. I told you that our relationship was innocent, so stop fishing, will you?”
We Ain’t the Brontës Page 19