Love/Fate

by Tracy Brown

  “Wassup, little man?”

  “Wassup?” Sheldon responded.

  Born noted how handsome Jada’s son was. He turned his attention to the pretty little girl standing next to Sheldon, and Born had to fight the urge to cry.

  Jada pointed to Mercedes. “This is—”

  “I know who she is,” Born said softly. “She looks just like her father.” He looked at Mercedes, and saw Dorian’s features all in the beautiful girl’s face. She had Sunny’s long brown hair, and her light complexion. But everything else was Dorian. Born felt the guilt he still couldn’t shake after all these years pounding in his heart. “Hi, Mercedes.”

  Mercedes smiled at the tall man who was smiling at her. “Hello. Are you Aunt Jada’s boyfriend?”

  Born laughed, and Jada wanted to die from embarrassment. “I used to be Aunt Jada’s boyfriend,” Born explained. “But now I’m just her friend.” He smiled. “And I can see you got your mother’s outgoing personality!”

  “Ya damn right, she did!” Sunny stood behind Born with her hands on her hips. He turned around, and saw her standing behind him with a smile plastered across her lovely face. She opened her arms to him, and said, “Wassup, baby?”

  Born hugged Sunny for a long, long time. Seeing her and Mercedes made Born feel so good and so bad at the same time. He felt happy to see Sunny, who still looked like the star she had always been. He was also happy to see her daughter for the first time. But seeing the two of them also brought back the feeling that he had let his friend down, and cost him his life. And that made him want to cry.

  Sunny smiled at Born. “Now you’re the last person I expected Jada to bring home.” She looked at Jada, curiously. “Where the hell did you find him?”

  Jada smiled back. “I called him. We met for lunch, and I invited him back here.”

  Sunny nodded, and was glad that Jada had taken her advice and called him. She looked at Born, still smiling. “Well, I’m sure your ears have been ringing ‘cause we’ve been talking about you for days!”

  Jada frowned at Sunny, not wanting Born to know that he had been the topic of so much of their conversation over the past couple of days. Born frowned, too. “What were y’all talking about?”

  Just in the nick of time, Ava emerged from the kitchen and saw Born standing in the foyer. “Oh, my God!” she exclaimed. “Hey, Born. What’s up?”

  Born smiled back at Ava, as she came over and hugged him. She still looked good, and Born recalled the day he’d seen her naked. He was glad now that he hadn’t violated Jada’s trust by sleeping with her younger sister; otherwise this reunion would have been very uncomfortable. She smiled at him. “When did you get here?”

  “Just now,” he said. Jada ushered Sheldon and Mercedes back to their room so that the grown folks—particularly Sunny—could talk freely. She came back, and ushered everyone into the living room, and then gave Born a tour of her home. He was amazed at how well Jada had done for herself. He was proud of her for spending the money she had taken from Jamari to put a down payment on this house. It seemed that Jada had turned a major corner in her life, and Born was happy for her. He commended her for having the courage to turn her life around, and they prepared to head back downstairs.

  Born stopped Jada at the top of the stairs. “I wanna say something to you before we go back down there.”

  Jada looked at him, wondering what was on his mind.

  “I’m so proud of you,” he said. “You did all this by yourself. You stayed focused, and you did what you had to do. And look at you now. I know I ain’t no one special, or whatever. But I just wanted to say that I’m proud of you, and I really admire you for being strong enough to do all of this on your own.”

  Jada smiled, truly thrilled that he had noticed how extraordinary her accomplishments were. It had been no easy task for her to stay off drugs, to fight for her son, to go back to college, and to buy a home for her family. She knew that it was her own strength, and God’s grace, that had gotten her through it all. But she also knew that there was one other contributing factor. “I had a good teacher,” she said. “You taught me how to be a survivor, and how to fight my way to the top. I owe you so much for all the things you taught me.”

  Born shook his head. “You don’t owe me nothing. In fact, I’m the one who owes you. I know I can’t make up for walking away and leaving you by yourself. But if there’s ever something I can do to help you in any way, Jada, I’m here.”

  Jada looked around for Sheldon or Mercedes. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she leaned in and kissed Born softly. His lips were so perfect, as if they were made to kiss hers. She stood with her face only inches from his. Then she took him by the hand, and they headed back downstairs to the rest of the crew.

  They spent a long night catching up on each other’s lives. Sunny smiled, watching Jada and Born together again, laughing and talking. She thought about how her conversation with Jada had started, when she’d first gotten the flowers from Born. Jada had told Sunny that Born was the love of her life, and Sunny’s reaction had been negative. She had wondered how Jada could feel love toward a man who had tossed her out on the street with no one to turn to. Sunny had seen the depths to which Jada had fallen, and she couldn’t understand how Jada could come out of that situation feeling anything but anger toward Born. But as she sat and watched the two of them that night, laughing and smiling at each other, or catching each other’s gaze as they talked, Sunny understood. Their love reminded her of the love she’d shared with Dorian. It was something unique, that she knew she would never have again with any other man. Sunny dated. She had several wealthy and successful suitors who would give her the world. But Sunny’s world had been Dorian, and no one could bring him back. She didn’t want to ever fall in love again. But she hoped, now watching Jada and Born together, that they would be able to salvage whatever was left of what they’d once had.

  “So, Sunny, what are you doing these days?” Born asked. “I bet you got your hands full with Mercedes. All the little boys in school must be beating down your door.”

  “Mercedes goes to an all-girls prep school on the Upper East Side. Ain’t no boys beating down shit.” Sunny smiled. “Besides, I’m hoping she and Sheldon get married someday.”

  Jada laughed. “Wouldn’t that be something?” she said. “Poor Sheldon. If Mercedes is anything like her high-maintenance mama, my baby’s in trouble.”

  Everyone laughed, knowing that Sunny was the supreme diva. Sunny waved her hand at Jada, and then turned her attention to Born. “I’m modeling now. Nothing major, yet. A couple of runway shows here and there. Just some magazine ads, cosmetic ads, and shit like that. Baby Phat, Apple Bottoms, fashion layouts in Essence and Vibe, and all that. My friend Olivia has been hooking me up with some of her designer friends, and they seem to love my face.” Sunny smiled, happy with her little claim to fame.

  Jada smiled, too. “It’s all that ass, not the face, that they love,” she joked. Sunny stuck her middle finger up at her friend, and they all laughed.

  “In the modeling world, I’m old,” Sunny explained. “Most of the girls who get the big ad campaigns are in their teens and twenties. Either that, or they’re household names who have paid their dues, and their faces are easily recognizable. I’m trying to change that. I’m thirty-six years old, and in my mind I’m still young. The fashion industry doesn’t see it that way, though.” Sunny shrugged. “Thankfully, I don’t need the money. Every dime I make goes into a trust for Mercedes. When Dorian died, he left me all of what he had, and he damn sure had a lot! I don’t have to work. I just want to.”

  Born nodded. “Well, it’s good that you’re doing what you always wanted to do. Dorian used to always tell me that you thought you were a supermodel.”

  Sunny laughed, remembering the days when she used to demonstrate her runway walk for Dorian, and he would tell her how sexy she was. She missed him so much, and she could tell by the look on Born’s face that he missed his friend, too. “Dorian loved yo
u, Born.” Sunny’s face and tone were sincere. “You were his favorite from the very beginning. Once he met you, it was like he found his protégé. Dorian used to always tell me that you were the one who would take over his empire. You were the one he knew would come out on top.” Sunny smiled at Born.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I thought it would be me and him on some Biggie and Puffy type shit for life. That was my man, you know?” Born’s eyes got misty. “I just wish I could have stopped what happened. I feel like that shit is kinda my fault.”

  Sunny frowned and shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault, Born. Nobody’s to blame for that shit but Raquel. You didn’t know that she was deranged. And none of us knew she had a gun. You tried. You shot the bitch in the leg! And for a sane person, that would have been enough to stop her. But Raquel was trying to kill me. Dorian saved my life. He saved Mercedes’s life. And that’s how he would have wanted it. I know it. Don’t blame yourself.” Sunny wiped one tear that drifted down her cheek. “He loved you, Born. He loved you a whole lot.”

  Born smiled at Sunny, and he felt better. At least she didn’t blame him for Dorian’s death. He hoped that someday he could stop blaming himself. Mercedes came in with Sheldon in tow, and Sunny explained to her daughter that Born had been a very good friend of her father’s. Mercedes smiled big and hugged Born. “My daddy was a hero. He saved Mommy’s life.”

  Born nodded. “Yup. I could tell you a whole bunch of stones about your father.”

  Mercedes’s face lit up. “Really? Tell me!”

  Born looked helplessly at Sunny, and she threw her hands in the air. “What, Mr. Big Mouth. You told her you got stories. Go on and tell her some stories!”

  Mercedes tugged at Born’s hand and pulled herself up onto his lap. “Tell me.”

  Born laughed at Mercedes’s aggressive personality, and cleared his throat.

  “Well, one time, me and your father were in Brooklyn …”

  For the next hour or so, Born entertained Mercedes, and all the other folks present, with story after story about his adventures with Dorian. Mercedes was enthralled, and never took her eyes off of Born. Sunny, too, hung on Born’s every word. Some of the stories were familiar to her. Dorian had told her some of them. But others, Sunny heard for the first time, and she smiled, reminiscing on her one true love.

  The night wore on, and they all enjoyed the atmosphere. Everyone laughed and joked and talked until the wee hours of the morning. Sunny had everybody laughing. Mercedes fell asleep in Born’s arms, and Sheldon fell asleep in Jada’s. They carried the two of them to Sheldon’s room, and laid them down. Jada tucked them in, and they went back to the living room, where everyone was beginning to grow sleepy.

  By the time Born got ready to leave, at close to two o’clock in the morning, he and Jada had rekindled their friendship, and agreed to see each other again soon. She walked him to the door, and he stood there smiling down at her. “Thanks for inviting me over here,” he said. “It was nice being back around you and Sunny again. Your son is so handsome, and Mercedes is beautiful.” He reached over and touched Jada’s cheek lightly, tracing his finger across the silky texture of her skin. “I’ll see you again real soon.”

  Jada smiled, and relished the feeling of his hand against her face. “Okay.”

  Born turned and left, and Jada shut the door. She turned around to find Sunny standing behind her with a smile plastered on her face. “You got your second shot, girl,” Sunny said. “Don’t blow it.”

  Sunny turned and headed to the bathroom, leaving Jada standing alone—still feeling Born’s strong hand caressing her cheek.

  Epilogue

  LOVERS AND FRIENDS

  Things were never quite the same for any of them after that night. Born and Jada rediscovered the reasons they’d become such good friends in the first place. Though neither of them was in any rush to take things too far too soon, their chemistry was unchanged. Anisa hated that Born and Jada had made amends, and she was upset that he’d forgiven her. Anisa gave him hell whenever he brought Ethan around Jada and Sheldon. Born told her, truthfully, that he and Jada were just friends. He also made it clear to Anisa that he owed her no explanations about his private life. His relationship with Anisa had long been over. And deep in her heart she knew that he had never really been hers to begin with. Still, Anisa held on, hoping that he’d change his mind. But in truth, she knew that Jada had won Born’s heart after all.

  Sunny became reacquainted with Dorian’s brothers as a result of Jada and Born becoming friends again. Up to that point, Sunny had always been cordial yet distant with the brothers, because she didn’t like their inquiries about how much money Dorian had left behind. She wanted no discussion about Dorian’s money. When they came to see Mercedes, Sunny always met them curbside, and dropped her daughter off with little conversation. But once Born started coming back around, that began to change.

  Sunny was happy to hear that the uncles were busying themselves with D.J.’s success. Born had him poised to go platinum with his debut CD, and Dorian’s brothers were eager for a lifestyle of fame and fortune on a legitimate level. Born became the mediator between them, and he convinced Sunny that she could come back around their crew without worrying about people going after her money. She and Mercedes’s uncles made amends, and Sunny was glad that their attention was diverted to what D.J. would inherit rather than what Mercedes would. Sunny and Jada found themselves attending barbecues, and reacquainting themselves with Dorian’s brothers and their crew. These connections proved to be valuable when Sunny and Jada finished their novel, aptly titled Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction. They’d based it on their own trials and tribulations in the game, and it was as entertaining as it was fact-based.

  In order to help them drum up support for the novel, Born helped them secure a meeting with Monarch Publishing. They aced it, signed a nice book deal for not one, but two novels, and drummed up so much of a buzz that the book was on back order before it was even released. This was due in large part to the spot Born booked for them on Mindy Milford’s radio show.

  Mindy, the scandal-obsessed radio personality, started the interview off nicely enough. She described the two women to her listening audience, pointing out that both of them were iced out in brilliant diamonds, and wearing designer duds. She told them both that they were very beautiful women, and Sunny and Jada smiled and thanked her. Then Mindy asked about the book, and what the story was about. Jada gave a brief synopsis, and the interview seemed to be going well. Mindy seemed to be behaving. But out of nowhere, she attacked. Mindy asked them both point-blank if they had ever dabbled in cocaine use.

  Sunny had looked at Mindy like she’d lost her entire mind. But she recovered quickly. “Yes,” Sunny had deadpanned. “I did. That’s how I’m able to write about it so well. The character in the book—Charlene—she goes through a lot of things I went through, things that lots of young ladies are going through. That’s why the story’s called Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction.”

  Mindy cut Sunny off, and cut right to the chase. “But is it true that before you started dating award-nominated actors, you were once the wife of a major drug kingpin in Brooklyn?”

  “What the fuck does that have to do with this book, Mindy?” The censors worked eagerly to bleep out the expletives in Sunny’s tirade. “Why does that shit matter? Who cares about all that? The book is called—”

  “Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction, that’s the name of the book everyone,” Mindy’s voice boomed in the microphone. “I encourage everyone to go out and buy a copy, because it is beautifully written.”

  “Thank you,” Sunny said, firmly.

  “You’re welcome. And I think it’s so impressive, because the whole time you were living so fabulously you were getting high every day—”

  “Mindy, why you trying to make me fight you in here today?” Sunny was pissed, and her voice conveyed that. “I didn’t come in here to talk about my life. When I write that book about my life, you’ll be the first to know.�
�

  “Well, I’ll look forward to reading it. Because the things I’ve heard about you and your lifestyle back when you were getting high, honeeeee! That’s something we all want to read about!” Mindy pressed a button, and sound effects filled the speakers. Fake applause filled the airwaves. “Is it true that you were pregnant with the football player Michael Warren’s baby?”

  “I’m not answering that,” Sunny said. “Let’s talk about the book, Mindy. The book!”

  Mindy nodded. “Yes. The book is going to be a bestseller. The streets are already buzzing. But not nearly as much as they will be once you write that life story of yours. I’m sure you’ll mention the fact that your child’s father was murdered at your baby shower by his other baby’s mother—”

  “Bitch!” The next sound heard in the studio was the sound of microphones coming off, and the censors bleeping out the words Sunny was yelling. The phone lines lit up.

  Mindy defended herself, insisting that as a public figure Sunny should be prepared to open her personal life up to scrutiny. Sunny gave her hell, and the censors worked hard to block out Sunny’s curses. Still Mindy pressed on. “I’m giving you a forum to answer the rumors. The streets are talking.”

  Sunny stepped back to the mike once more, and said, “Well, the streets should shut the fuck up then. Read the book, and shut the fuck up.”

  Sunny stormed out and Jada shook her head. Jada leaned in close to the mike, and said, “Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction, in stores now. Find out what all the fuss is about.”

  And that’s exactly what plenty of Mindy’s listeners did. The segment got a big reaction from the syndicated listening audience, and it became the subject of plenty of the phone calls. It turned out to be great exposure, and the book was a national bestseller. Sunny and Jada were on their way, and they had Ava—their attorney—handling their business.

  Meanwhile, Born was leading D.J. to the promised land, and for the most part all of their children were happy and healthy. For all of them, the whole situation was surreal. None of them had expected things to turn out as they had.