The city annually gave us a day they called “giving thanks.” It was being held this year at Jackson Park located behind the Museum of Science and Industry. There were amusement rides, food vendors, games, and live music.
I climbed out and helped Miasha from her seat. Together, the three of us moved through the park and it felt like we were a family. When Chauncey took my hand, I smiled up at his handsome face. This was definitely going to be a good day.
Miasha started jumping up and down.“Mommy! Mommy! Can I have a balloon?”
“Sure you can,” Chauncey said before I had a chance to answer. I smiled over at him and took a moment to admire how good my man looked in stonewashed jean shorts, a Chicago Bears’ jersey, and fresh white sneakers. I wasn’t looking bad either. I was rocking a pink tennis dress with a short pleated skirt and crisscrossed pink sandals.
Chauncey scooped Miasha up in his arms and carried her over to buy a balloon. I took the opportunity to glance around, looking for whomever I knew. Everybody at the clinic was required to be there. Chauncey and Miasha returned and we strolled around the park eating cotton candy. I found my supervisor and made sure to walk up to her. Not necessarily so she could meet my man, but to make sure Sylvia knew I was here so I would get paid. She had made it clear, anyone who didn’t show up was going to be charged four hours of annual leave.
“Well, well, who do we have here?”
I swung around and Gloria was all up in my face. Whoever did her weave needed to find another profession, because I could see the tracks at the front of her head.
“Hey, what’s up, Gloria?” I said, then saw the way she was looking at Chauncey. Her eyes traveled over his body, pausing at his chest. I been around her long enough to know she liked everything she saw. That chick better check herself. “This is Chauncey and you already know Miasha.”
“Of course I know Miasha.” Her eyes were glued to my man. “Chauncey, huh?” she purred seductively. She then had the nerve to stick her flat chest out like she had something for him to look at. Her breasts were like two bumps in the road. “Hmmm . . . you look familiar.”
Chauncey chuckled, then shook his head. “Sorry, but I’ve never seen you before.”
She wasn’t ready to let it go, but I was on to her. Gloria was just looking for an excuse to flirt with Chauncey. “No . . . I’ve seen you. I just can’t seem to put my finger on it. A man as fine as yourself, I never forget a face.”
Well, she needed to forget this face, because it and everything else belonged to me. He was my dream come true and I’d be damned before I let some chick steal my man.
“How did your date go with Deon?”
Frowning, she held her nose, then mumbled, “Oooh . . . puhleeze.”
Laughing, I took Chauncey’s hand. “We’ll see you later.” I dragged him over to the other side of the park. As far away from her as I could. I introduced him to all my coworkers and everyone adored him. We had a ball. Chauncey competed in the potato sack race and even volunteered to go in the dunking booth after he found out the proceeds went to a local charity. On several occasions, I spotted Gloria staring at him from across the park.
“I think you have an admirer,” I said to him as we were eating Chicago dogs.
“Oh yeah, who?”
I nodded my head in the direction of the kissing booth where Gloria was working. “She’s waiting for you to come over.” I teased between chews.
He frowned. “There ain’t nothing that string bean can do for me.” I couldn’t help but grin at his comment. “I like my women with curves.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I glanced over my shoulder at Gloria in time to see the jealous look on her face. I giggled and wrapped my arms around him. Chauncey was mine and nobody was going to change that.
27
Chauncey
While hugging Candace, I got mustard on the front of my jersey. I went into the men’s room to try to get it out. Luckily, it took all of two minutes.
I was having a good time. With the three of us together, I couldn’t help it, I felt like I finally had a family. Other than my sister, I didn’t have anyone else. But I did now. I wasn’t ready yet to think about my relationship with my father. I had already spent too many hours trying to sort out what he had told me and figure out how much of it was true and what part was a lie. Right now I needed to focus on what was important, and that was my new family. I had Candace and Miasha, and I planned to keep them. If things continued to go as well as they did, I planned to talk to her about taking our relationship to the next level—moving in together.
I was walking out the men’s room when I spotted Gloria standing against the wall outside the door. The grin on her face told me she had purposely been waiting for me. I saw her watching me long before Candace had mentioned it. Gloria wasn’t half bad. Kinda skinny with puppy dog eyes. Her best assets were a small, narrow waist and an ass that I could have balanced a glass of water on top. But I was a titty man and baby girl didn’t have any.
“Hey,” she said to me. Her tongue slid across her lips while she stared down at my crotch. I’ll have to say it was the first time a woman looked at me and made me feel uncomfortable.
“Whassup . . . uhhh . . . Gloria, right?”
“Yep.” She stepped forward. “I saw you go in there, so I thought I’d wait and see if you needed anything.”
What I needed, she couldn’t give me. “I’m good . . . really.”
She moved closer until she was invading my space and pressed her hand against my chest. “You’re sexy as hell, but you already knew that, didn’t you?” she said, then laughed. “Why don’t you call me some time.” She took a piece of paper from her pocket and tried to put it in my hand.
“Nah, boo. No disrespect, but I’m good.” I turned and walked away. I couldn’t believe how scandalous she was, trying to holler at me when my girl wasn’t looking.
“Chauncey!”
This girl was going to make me say something to her she wasn’t going to like. I swung around and met her slick grin. I should have known she was going to be trouble.
“You know . . . I finally figured out where I know you from. You used to mess with my girl, Tameka. I’ve seen your picture on her phone.”
It took everything I had to hold it together at the mention of that stalker. She hadn’t called me once since she saw me out with Candace. I shrugged. “Yeah, that’s the past.”
I watched her bring a hand to her waist and rest her weight to one hip. “I don’t know, because the way Tameka talks, you still sliding up over there. Matter of fact, you were at her place last week when I called.” She smirked to herself as if she’d just heard a private joke.
I laughed, then shook my head. “You got it wrong. Somebody may have been over there, but it wasn’t me. I haven’t messed with that girl in months.”
“Really? Then I guess that’s her loss.” She licked her lips and I watched her eyes drop to my crotch again. “I heard you are packing, and the way my girl talks about you all the time, I can’t blame her for still wanting some of that.”
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure none of Candace’s coworkers were around listening. “Listen . . . I’ve moved on. It’s about time Tameka does the same.”
Gloria giggled like she had a secret. “Wait until I tell her I saw you.”
I walked away without even bothering to say good-bye. Damn, I had pretty much thought I had gotten rid of that crazy chick. Now there was no telling how she was going to react. Seeing us at a restaurant was one thing, but knowing I was out doing the family thing in front of one of her friends was another thing altogether. All I can say was, she better not try to mess with Candace; otherwise, she’ll have hell to pay.
28
Tiffany
You ever hear about someone ripping your heart from your chest? Well, that’s what I felt like. I can’t breathe. I might as well die. Sure, Jamaica was fun; but that was just a way to bandage the wound that hadn’t healed. Baughn was just a fling. I’ll a
dmit he was sexy as all get out and a very nice guy, but he lived in Jamaica and I’m here in the States. What kind of relationship could we really have? That’s why I left the country without saying good-bye. I know it was wrong of me, but it is what it is. I didn’t want him to get any wild ideas in his head of using me to get a green card. Besides, I still loved Kimbel with everything I had, and that kind of love just doesn’t go away overnight. At least it doesn’t for me. If only he felt the same way. Lord, was I ever gonna stop loving that man?
I came back to Chicago and found Kimbel had moved all my stuff out of his house and had it delivered to my mama’s. Can you believe that? You know she had a fit. I just don’t understand it. He didn’t even wait for the dust to settle or for the two of us to talk and see if we could salvage our relationship. Instead, he just tossed me out like yesterday’s trash. I don’t understand it. What we had in eight months, it takes some people a lifetime to find.
During my time away, I did some serious thinking and had time to understand that part of our breakup was my fault. I shouldn’t have confronted him like that in front of everyone. Stupid. Stupid. I should have talked about his little situation in private. Through sickness and in health, isn’t that what marriage was all about? Kimbel was right. If I hadn’t been holding out on him, he wouldn’t have needed to go and bang some stripper. My fault. Mama was right. I was the one to blame for everything.
As I sat there staring at the television, feeling sorry for myself, I began to wonder what Kimbel was doing. I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it. I had no willpower when it came to him. I picked up the phone and dialed his number, hoping he would answer this time. If not, then just to hear his voice. I was shocked when he picked up, because he’d been avoiding my phone calls all week.
“Hello?” Kimbel sounded shocked to hear from me.
“Hey.” My heart was pounding so hard I didn’t know what else to say.
“Tif, is that you? I was just sitting here, thinking about you.”
My heart leaped. I knew it! I can’t even begin to tell you how good that made me feel. “I was thinking about you, too.” My feelings for him hadn’t changed. After everything that happened, I still imagined spending the rest of my life with him.
“Listen . . . I’m sorry things went down the way they did. Can you forgive me for hitting you?”
“Yes.” I choked on a sob. I was so relieved we were finally having this conversation. Even with everything he put me through, I still loved him. “I forgive you.”
“Ummmm . . . anyway, I would like to get together tomorrow . . . if that’s good with you?”
If that’s good for me? Hell, right now would be even better. But I didn’t want Kimbel to think I was anxious to see him. The fact he wanted to get together meant he still cared. “Sure. Where would you like to meet?” The nearest Holiday Inn would be fine with me.
“Actually . . . I can just drop by the salon on my way home from work tomorrow.”
“Work?” Is he for real? A reunion like ours needed to be somewhere private. I glanced down at my watch. If I hurried, I could make a trip to Frederick’s of Hollywood before they closed. “How about lunch?”
“I already have plans. Listen, Tif . . . I just need to meet long enough to get my ring back.”
“Excuse me.” I swore my heart stopped pumping. There was no way I had heard him right. “Did you just say you wanted to meet so you could get your ring back?”
Don’t you know he had the nerve to chuckle. “C’mon, you didn’t think I was going to let you keep it?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. I thought we’d sell it to help cover some of the wedding expenses.”
Kimbel gave a rude snort. “Didn’t you get the memo? The bride’s family is supposed to pay for the wedding, not me.”
Okay, he was pissing me off. “We had agreed to pay the bills together. You know damn well my mother can’t afford it and neither can I.”
“That’s not my problem. You called off the wedding, not me.”
“I wonder why the hell I did that!” I spat in the phone.
“Tiffany, I’ll be by your job tomorrow.”
“Come by if you want and I’ll tell everyone you have herpes. Get this in your head . . . you ain’t getting shit back!” I slammed the phone down.
29
Noelle
“How’s your searching going?”
It was lunchtime. Whitney and I were sitting at Giordano’s and had just ordered a stuffed pizza with everything. For the past couple of days, it had been a zoo at the salon. Everybody wanted their hair, nails, and toes done for the Taste of Chicago. Vendors and performers from all over the country had booths set up all along Lake Shore Drive for two whole weeks. I stopped going to the event years ago. I’ve gotten too old for concerts and I hated crowds. However, Stevie Wonder was scheduled to perform over the weekend, so I was almost tempted to go.
“Nope, still haven’t found Sierra’s mother. Scott said he checked with all his chicks—he could remember by name—and no one admits to having his baby.”
Whitney gave me a sympathetic look. “Maybe she’ll pop up.”
“At this point, I don’t care if she ever shows up. I love my granddaughter. I just want to know who she is and why she left her. After that she can take her stupid behind on back to doing whatever she was doing before,” I began between sips. “It’s the not knowing that scares me.”
“Why’s that?”
I forget I have to have patience with Whitney because she’s about to be a mother. She’s spoiled and has been selfish all her life. My girl has a lot to learn about loving a little person who’s a part of you. My blood ran through Sierra’s veins, and that made her as much a part of me as Scott was. “Because at any moment that woman can pop on my doorstep and try to take Sierra back. Now that my granddaughter is with me, I can’t see her not being a part of my life.”
“I didn’t even think about that.” She wouldn’t. Whitney knew nothing about giving birth to a child and being willing to die for your own flesh and blood if you had to. “But at least Grant’s being supportive.”
At the mention of my husband’s name, a smile curled my lips. By the time Grant had left for Korea, everything in our relationship was where it needed to be. We spent those last four days together, screwing like a couple of rabbits, and he also took the time getting to know his granddaughter. Whitney even babysat so we could have a night alone. Before he boarded that plane, Grant said he had no problem raising Sierra if we needed to.
“Yep, one thing I can say is I have a good man.”
“Yes, you do,” Whitney replied with a look of envy. I was starting to realize the whole deal about not wanting the man only the baby was a lie. Her baby’s daddy, whoever he was, she wished he was willing to be a part of her and her baby’s lives.
“I just wish Scott would take this situation seriously. He thinks it’s a big joke as he tries to remember the names of his girls from one week to the next.”
“You’re being hard on him. Maybe he really doesn’t know whose baby it is.”
I shook my head. “Then that’s sad. He needs to stop sleeping around so much.”
Whitney gave me a look like she wanted to say something, then thought better of it. She always said I babied her godson too much. This was one time I didn’t need to hear, “I told you so.” She had been right all along. Scott was a spoiled brat, and it was time for him to start growing up and taking care of his responsibilities. I didn’t have a problem raising Sierra, but you better believe I was going to make him start helping financially.
I finished eating a slice of pizza, then cleared my throat. “The reason why I asked you to lunch was because last night I remembered something. It probably doesn’t have anything to do with Scott, but remember that girl who asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance. The one he went with on a dare?”
She nodded. Whitney had been there that day she had come by the house to pick Scott up for their date with her camera in
hand. The teenager was real skinny and nerdy looking, and I was embarrassed to say, I remembered thinking, How in the world had she convinced Scott to go with her. Later, he admitted she agreed to tutor him in College Algebra for the rest of the year, which I translated as, she agreed to do his homework because I don’t remember her ever coming over to study.
“Sure I remember her. Real plain and wore thick glasses.”
“Right,” I said, nodding my head and getting excited as I spoke. “Well, I ran into her at the mall back in February and her stomach was sticking way out.”
Whitney’s eyes grew large. “You don’t think . . .”
I shrugged. “Hey, I’m just saying she was pregnant. I don’t know who the daddy is, but I’m definitely going to find out. I’m just surprised I hadn’t thought about her before.” I had added the dates in my head, and give or take a few weeks, I was right on the money.
Whitney frowned. “I seriously doubt Scott would have been interested in her.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Do you remember her name?”
She shook her head. “Nope.” She said it so fast I had this feeling that Whitney was lying. But she wouldn’t have any reason to, so I knew I was being overly paranoid about this whole thing.
“Well, trust and believe, I am definitely going to find out.”
“One thing I had always envied about you is your determination.” Whitney looked at me as if she was contemplating something, then suddenly held up her glass. “Here’s to solving the mystery.”
“Here, here.” I tapped my glass against hers. I was going to find that girl one way or another. I just hope I could deal with the truth once it was staring me right in the face.
Suspicions Page 19