Chance on Lovin' You

by Eboni Snoe

  “Is everything else okay?” Sherry asked.

  “Everything is fine.” Cay looked at her with concern. “I just need you to be downstairs in about forty-five minutes.”

  A look of relief passed over Sherry’s face. “All right.”

  Cay went on to his father’s room. He started to knock on the door but changed his mind. He cracked it and looked inside. Mr. Ellis was buried in the covers. Cay thought he looked so small in the huge bed, and Baltron’s comments that morning came to mind. He decided to let him be. His father was getting older, although he was fighting it every step of the way. And there was nothing he could do to change things. The dilemma surrounding the Bethel property was crystal-clear.

  Mr. Ellis heard the door close and waited a few moments before he sat up. With thick fingers, he buttoned the first two buttons of his silk shirt lower than they should have been, and the garment bunched unattractively. His dark legs looked like sticks beneath his BVDs when he swung them to the floor and picked up the socks he had worn the night before. Mr. Ellis put on the socks and his best pair of alligator shoes. Looking around as if he thought someone might be watching, he pulled the urine-stained sheets off the bed and rolled them into a ball. “I’m not going to sleep on these sheets another night,” he proclaimed. “I don’t care what Mother says. I’m not.” He pushed out his lower lip.

  He reached for the lighter fluid and his cigarette lighter. Accidentally, he knocked over the ice tea sitting at his bedside. Mr. Ellis ignored the mess as he put the articles in his pocket and stuffed the pungent sheets under his arm.

  Still acting as if someone might be watching, with his eyes squeezed shut, he opened his bedroom door. Fear mixed with excitement settled on his stubbled face as he peered out into the hall. Mr. Ellis smiled when there was no one there. Giggling under his breath, he took off for the back stairway with a portion of his sheets mopping the steps behind him. He was more than pleased to discover the kitchen empty, and he laughed loudly as he went out the door and headed for his car.

  “Where’s Papa?” Sherry asked, looking down at her hands.

  “He’s still asleep,” Cay replied, “but we had quite a talk yesterday. And things are finally coming together. Perhaps not in the way that I thought they would, but together nevertheless.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Sherry’s eyes were puffy and dark.

  “I’ve discovered some things that shine a different light on everything.” Cay looked into her drawn face

  Sherry grew paler. “You’ve discovered—”

  The doorbell toned and Cay turned toward it. “That must be Sasha and Jason Williams.”

  “You’ve invited them here?” Sherry tried to grab his arm.

  “You said I should have talked first, Cay. Settled things in the family first.” Sherry backed up to the staircase as Cay crossed the foyer and opened the door.

  “Come in, Attorney Williams.” He walked past Cay. “Sasha.” Their eyes met, and Cay mouthed, “It’s going to be okay.” Sasha’s turbulent eyes looked relieved.

  “Sherry,” Jason spoke as he walked inside.

  Sherry pressed her back against the baluster at the end of the stairs. “Jason.” The name was barely audible. Sherry and Sasha acknowledged one another with nods.

  “Let’s go into the office.” Cay motioned toward the east end of the mansion. Once again his gaze fell on Sasha. “This way please,” Cay announced as he walked ahead of the group. When they reached the office Sasha sat in a wing-backed chair. Jason sat on one end of the sofa with his eyes on Sherry, who sat on the other end of the same sofa. Cay remained standing.

  “It’s a shame things had to go this far.” Cay looked at each one of their faces. “It’s a horrible thing to live with fear. It can stifle your life, turning you into someone you don’t recognize.” Cay looked down. “The truth is, I feel this is something that should have been settled privately. But even now there are questions that remain unanswered, questions that I hope will be answered this morning.” He looked directly at Jason. “I want to begin by—”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Cay,” Baltron said as he burst into the office, his breath coming in spurts.

  “What is it?”

  “I saw Mr. Ellis in the Cadillac tearing down the road towards the interior of the island as if his life depended on it.” Baltron gulped, and Sherry gasped. “He nearly ran me over, but I don’t think he saw me. If you know what I mean.” Discomfort blanketed his features as Olive appeared behind him. She placed a comforting hand on his arm.

  “When was this?” Cay replied.

  “A few minutes ago. I got here as fast as I could to tell you.”

  “Look!” Sasha pointed toward the window. “There’s smoke coming from the direction of the Bethel House!” She was on her feet. “I think the Bethel House is on fire!”

  Sasha ran for the door, and Jason Williams looked at Sherry before he headed out behind her.

  “Olive, call the fire department,” Cay commanded. He turned to Sherry and Baltron. “Come on. They may need our help.”

  “But what can I do,” Sherry began to shake her head. “I didn’t have anything to do with it,” Sherry said quietly.

  “I didn’t say you did,” Cay retorted.

  “But I wouldn’t know what to do,” Sherry continued to protest.

  “For once think about someone besides yourself, Sherry,” Cay admonished her.

  “I am.” Sherry’s voice trilled as she caught up with Cay. “I just—what do you think is wrong with Papa?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “I don’t know. But if he set fire to the Bethel House, the Bethel Curse loomed in his mind, it doesn’t look very good.”

  Sasha hesitated as she stood outside Jason’s car.

  “It’s unlocked,” he reassured her.

  She looked at the smoke rising into the air and jumped inside.

  Jason gunned the engine and headed back up the drive. “Maybe it has been Mr. Ellis all this time,” Jason started to jabber. “Maybe I had Cay pegged wrong,” he continued.

  “Maybe.” Sasha leaned toward the dashboard. “God, I hope he hasn’t had time to burn the house down.”

  Jason let out a disdainful chuckle. “Yes, it probably was the old man. Everybody knows he’s no good. He’s been a liar and a cheat all of his miserable life.”

  It was too much for Sasha. “He’s an old, sick man, Jason,” she said, feeling tired, “with a childhood that was horrible. Life can do strange things to people. It’s not easy for people his age when they’re sick and have a fear of dying. It’s not easy for them or for the people who love them.” Sasha spoke from experience.

  “I wonder what pushed him over the edge?” Jason went on. “If he has set fire to the Bethel House, that’s arson, and he could do some time for that. I wonder how well his rich, pampered ass will do in jail with the rest of us ordinary folks?” he mused as they approached the Bethel House.

  Anxiously, Sasha waited to see the place she had come to love. When it was in view relief washed over her. There was no smoke or flames coming from the structure.

  “The house doesn’t look like it’s on fire,” she said as Jason drove up. Before he could come to a complete halt Sasha was out of the car. She could hear Cay’s SUV pulling up behind them. She walked up to the house and unlocked the door.

  Nervous, Sasha inspected each room, checking for any evidence of a fire. There was none. When she returned to the front room, Cay was standing inside. “The Bethel House isn’t on fire,” she heard herself say as confusion blended with relief.

  “Thank God.” Cay put his arms around her. “This is your home, Sasha. The place that will keep you close to me until I can bring you even closer,” Cay said, looking into her eyes.

  “What?” Sasha pulled back. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “I met with my attorney today. The Bethel property is yours. It always has been. That’s what I was going to announce at Guana Manor.”

  “Honest?”<
br />
  He nodded.

  “Then you never tried to scare me away from Magic Key?” she asked, searching the depths of his gaze.

  “Never,” Cay replied, pulling her into his arms again. “Why would I want to scare you away when I love you?” Sasha’s eyes closed as she rested against his chest.

  “Hey!” They heard Baltron yell. “The smoke is coming from the other side of these trees.” Sasha and Cay emerged from the house together.

  “I think it’s coming from the Circle of Stones,” Baltron said, pointing due east.

  “That’s impossible,” Sasha protested. “We have to take the main road back past Guana Manor in order to reach the stones.”

  “That’s not true,” Cay informed her. “Grandmother wanted it to seem as if the Bethel property was much farther away from the main house than it actually was. So the main road circumvents the Key. The stones are on the other side of this wall of trees. It’s all an illusion, Sasha. All of it.”

  Amazement surfaced on her face before she crinkled her nose. “The fire must be getting bigger. The smell of smoke is stronger now.” Once again she feared for the safety of her property.

  “I can smell it, too,” Cay replied, then pointed over her head. “The quickest way to get to the stones is right through there.”

  “What’s going on?” Jason stepped away from Sherry.

  “That’s what I’d like to know,” Cay replied. “I was told your interest in this whole thing goes beyond representing Sasha.” Cay looked at Sherry, who was standing stiffly behind him. “And I intend to find out what that interest is.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jason defended himself. “Sasha, don’t let him fool you. You’ve got enough against the Ellises to sue them for millions. Don’t let him talk you out of it.”

  “Sasha doesn’t have to sue me to get my money. If things work out the way I want them to, all of this” —he made a sweeping gesture— “will be hers as well as mine.” Cay’s voice softened as he looked down into her face. “No, this isn’t about Sasha, Jason. This is about you.”

  Jason looked angry and flustered as he stared at them. Finally, he retorted, “You will get my bill.” He turned to Sherry. “Is this proof enough for you? Your man Cay has made his intentions plain. Are you going to stay here or are you coming with me?”

  “Coming with you?” Sasha repeated, confused.

  Sherry’s eyes grew wide as she looked from Jason to Cay. “Cay…”

  Their gazes met before he shifted his focus to Jason. “Give me your keys, Jason. You’re not going anywhere until I find out the whole truth.” Cay stood threateningly close. “Somehow I think you are the key to this entire thing.”

  Jason looked up into Cay’s face towering above him. “I guess I have no choice, do I?”

  “I would say you don’t,” Cay replied.

  “You’re not going to find out anything.” Jason handed over his keys. “But I’m going to take you to court for harassment,” he threatened. “Maybe even kidnapping.”

  Cay ignored his threats as the group made their way through the barrier of trees. Minutes later they emerged on the other side. There was a profound silence. Perhaps it was the shock of what they saw, for in the middle of the Circle of Stones, beside a smoking mass that reeked, sat a nearly naked Mr. Ellis.

  Chapter 38

  “Hazel, is that you?” Mr. Ellis asked as he looked at the befuddled group. “Come here. Come here,” he repeated, moving his index finger like an inverted inchworm. “I want to show you something.”

  Sounds of shock, discomfort, and confusion undulated through the group before Jason laughed. “He’s as crazy as the day is long.”

  Sasha had to hold Cay’s arm to restrain him. “And you think that’s funny?” She studied the man she had trusted to handle her affairs. “I don’t find it funny at all.”

  “Why are you talking to him, Hazel?” Mr. Ellis spoke again. “I want you to come over here with me.”

  Sasha pointed to her chest. “He thinks I’m my Aunt Hazel.”

  Mr. Ellis beamed a wide smile in her direction, his spindly legs sticking out from beneath his untidy silk shirt like spikes. “Hurry up and come over here before it goes away. It’s a little rainbow.” He pointed toward the silver object on the ground. “You always used to tell me to look for the rainbows.”

  “Poor Mr. Ellis,” Baltron said with tears in his eyes.

  “Poor Mr. Ellis,” Jason mocked. “This is irony at its best.”

  Cay took a step toward his father. “Father,” he spoke gently.

  “Who are you?” Mr. Ellis looked at Cay suspiciously. “Is that you, Papa?” His eyes widened with fear. “Papa” —he pointed and tucked his lips— “you stay away.”

  Sherry cringed to hear the term she used being used by Mr. Ellis in reference to his own son. Silently, she began to cry.

  “You stay away, you hear,” Mr. Ellis continued. “Mother said you were a mean man and that I was going to grow up just like you. She said I had to learn to control myself. ‘You have no control,’ that’s what Mother said.” He kicked the smoking heap of limbs and sticks covered with smelly sheets. Sparks flew up into the air and a few twigs caught flame.

  “Isn’t this a classic?” Jason piped up again. “Now that he’s a stark raving lunatic, he doesn’t claim you.” He laughed boisterously. “Just look at him. The great Mr. Ellis, head of the Ellis fortune, sower of bastards from one end of the Big Pine Key area to the other. But he doesn’t claim them all.”

  “We’ve got to do something about this before he sets himself afire,” Baltron warned. “That’s his lighter fluid can he’s got down there on the ground. He’ll be in a helluva lot of trouble if the top isn’t closed tightly and it ignites.”

  “You’re right,” Cay replied. “Sasha, we’re going to need your help.”

  “Yes.” She looked at Mr. Ellis with renewed concern.

  “He thinks you’re Hazel, and he trusted her. Perhaps you can persuade him to move away from the fire. I’ll try and handle it from there.”

  Sasha nodded and began to approach Mr. Ellis slowly. “I’m coming over now…Ca-Cay. I want to see what you have to show me.” Her voice sounded strained. “But I have something I want to show you. And you have to come with me to see it.”

  “See! It’s a rainbow,” Mr. Ellis repeated, smiling down at the canister. “You said you and Precious believed rainbows were a sign.” He smiled wistfully. “It’s there just like my love for you was always there,” he said softly. “See, it’s a—” He tried to get up on his knees but he lost his balance and kicked the lighter fluid can. “Aw-aw, it’s gone,” Mr. Ellis lamented, picking up the canister. A clear liquid poured out. It flowed over his legs, onto the sheet, and down to the ground. A mighty whoosh followed. The sheets and Mr. Ellis’s lower legs went up in flames.

  “Oh, my God,” Sasha cried, but the next thing she knew Cay was at his father’s side, pulling him away from the pyre. With his own body he smothered the blaze that burned his father’s thin legs. “Get some water,” he yelled, taking off his T-shirt. “Quick! Somebody get some water from the pond over there.”

  Sasha grabbed Cay’s T-shirt and ran toward the natural spring. She could hear Cay saying, “You’re going to be all right, Father. Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.” Mr. Ellis groaned with pain.

  Sasha allowed the moist earth to lead her to a shallow pool among the plants. She immersed Cay’s T-shirt, then ran back toward the center of the stones. Nearly out of breath, she handed the dripping cloth to Cay.

  He stared at his father’s badly burned legs and prayed as he wrapped the shirt around them. “Oh, God, I’m so tired of this family dealing with tragedy and death. I thought things were looking up for us. We’re ready for it. It’s time. And I’m asking you now to give us grace,” he pleaded as the entire group hovered close by.

  Mr. Ellis lay as still as death, and nobody moved.

  “Is he going to be okay?”
Sasha had to say something as she looked at Cay’s stressed face.

  “His burns look real bad.” Cay gazed up at her.

  “Look,” Sasha said, “he’s coming to.” Mr. Ellis’s eyes began to flutter.

  “Did I hear somebody say okay?” Mr. Ellis said softly. “I better be okay.” He looked at the people standing above him. “What the hell am I doing here?” he asked, bewildered.

  “What’s going on?” Mr. Smith called as he walked toward them. “I saw the smoke when I was patrolling the beach. Is there anything I can do?”

  “There’s been a fire. But there’s nothing you can do. We’re waiting for the emergency vehicles now,” Cay replied. “I think I hear them in the distance.”

  Mr. Smith studied the situation, then looked at the people gathered in the circle. He nodded to everyone and acknowledged Sasha with obvious pleasure. “Didn’t think I’d see you so soon.”

  “How are you, Mr. Smith?” She managed a slight smile.

  “Doing just fine. Things have been interesting, haven’t they?” He looked down at Mr. Ellis again. “But I see things are looking up for you. You finally got together.” He motioned toward Jason.

  “Beg your pardon?” Sasha replied.

  “You and your brother, Jason.”

  There was a stunned silence.

  “My father is right there,” Jason pointed accusatorily.

  “Mr. Ellis is not your father,” Mr. Smith looked surprised. “Amos Bethel was. He told me so himself. He was proud that he had a son that had become a lawyer.”

  Jason looked at Sasha. “This can’t be true.”

  “But it is true,” Mr. Smith persisted. “Seeing you together like this, I thought you knew. I didn’t mean to start any trouble.”

  “You haven’t caused any trouble, Mr. Smith. I guess we would have found out at some time or another.” Sasha stared at Jason. “So you’re my half brother? But all this time you thought you were Mr. Ellis’s son.”

  Jason shook his head. “I really didn’t believe it until the other night when I read something my mother had written.” He looked bewildered.